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Leading the way in Surrogacy, Hertfordshire’s finest

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On the edge of leafy Hertfordshire, next to the Small River Lea in beautiful green surroundings, you’ll find a hidden treasure with a heart of gold. The unassuming Herts & Essex Fertility Centre that offers a safe haven of quality care, support and welcoming excellence to anxious patients who are filled with uncertainty about their fertility and the potential of having a family.

Herts & Essex Fertility Centre is one of the UK’s most reputable and best-performing IVF clinics, an independently owned clinic managed by leading experts offering cost-effective fertility treatment with outstanding results. In their history of almost 32 years, they have helped with the successful delivery of over 6,500 babies and their dedicated team has helped to create thousands of happy new families.

They pride themselves on being at the forefront of assisted conception utilizing innovative technology together with a flexible and patient centred approach.  Established in 1989 by Mr Michael Ah-Moye, Chief Executive Officer, it quickly developed into one of the largest on-site facilities in the region and has consistently achieved excellent success rates.

They strongly believe that a large part of their success is due to their consistent emphasis on teamwork and their caring and flexible approach to patient care.  The team consists of highly experienced staff drawn from a variety of disciplines: full-time consultant fertility specialists, embryologists, fertility nurses, counsellors and administrative staff.

The treatment they offer is tailored to suit their patients’ individual needs. They believe that any individual willing to make a lifelong commitment to providing a loving, nurturing, caring and supportive environment for a child deserves the chance to become a parent. So they are proud to help heterosexual couples, same-sex couples and single parents to start a family.

They offer fertility assessment, IUI, IVF, ICSI, PICSI, egg and sperm donation, sharing and freezing, scans, surrogacy, and more medical services of the highest calibre, tailored to suit the individual needs of each patient, in a friendly, supportive and caring environment.

One of their award-winning services is Surrogacy, which is often the only course of action available to women who are unable to carry a baby to term themselves, and to male same-sex couples.

Two types of Surrogacy

They offer two forms of surrogacy:

Full/host surrogacy is where the intended parents (IPs) use IVF treatment to create embryos using their own sperm and eggs. The embryos are then placed in the uterus of the surrogate. Where the treatment is a success, the IPs are the genetic parents of the baby. It is also possible to use donated eggs or sperm if needed.

Partial/straight surrogacy is where the surrogate become pregnant by artificial insemination or IVF, using the sperm from the intended father together with her own eggs. In this instance, the child shares the surrogate’s genes and is a less popular option for treatment.

In surrogacy the clinic will carry out their usual fertility assessments on both IPs to give them a clear idea of their chances of having a successful treatment cycle. As their gametes will be carried by a third party they will both need to be screened, just as if they were egg or sperm donors. This means that the IPs will need to have blood tests for genetic screening as well as screening for diseases.

It’s important to note that the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) does not regulate most aspects of surrogacy. It’s illegal to become a surrogate for commercial reasons in the UK. Therefore the only payments that can be exchanged between the IPs and their surrogate are those that can be classed as reasonable expenses. The clinic charge their usual fees for any necessary IVF and insemination procedures.

Legal Advice

They strongly recommend that patients take legal advice before embarking on a surrogacy journey, either as the IPs or as a surrogate as the laws surrounding surrogacy and the rights of each party are complicated.

Should the wind ever blow you in the direction of surrogacy or fertility treatment, this clinic’s personal touch, attention to detail, accessibility and deep empathy will leave a lasting impression as their exceptional staff display both technical expertise as well as personal warmth and compassion.

This honeypot at the end of the rainbow harnesses, supports and celebrates a culture of diversity, inclusion, and equality which symbolise their value and respect for their staff and patients – it’s part of their DNA.

Hi everyone, So I’m Mike, guess I’m the crazy one who had the idea to sell our souls to Social Media and open up our world for everyone to comment on and observe our lives. I spend most nights (when not with Talulah and Duke obviously) with my phone glued to my hand, posting, sharing, liking and filming - all in readiness for Facebook, Insta and now YouTube. It’s getting to be a full time job, which is tricky - as I have one of those! For the last 18 years I have worked within Medical Recruitment and have worked in a variety of high pressured Operational and Business Development roles in London and the Midlands. More recently I am working for myself as it gives me greater flexibility with our new family via my Consultancy firm MJE Consultancy Ltd, where I attract and recruit Fertility Nurses, Embryologists and IVF Consultants and other specialist Doctors, as the Fertility Industry is my passion. I’m obviously one half of TwoDads.U.K and very proud of that fact too, and without doubt being a father is and has been the best job I’ve ever had. Nothing prepares you for the impact these little humans have on us, I know if you’re anything like me, the joy of being a parent just keeps on giving (whilst equally testing me too!). Don’t get me wrong, there’s days where I want to sit on the garage floor and drown myself in Gin but on the whole, life is better than it ever has been...

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