LINKS

Here are some useful links that people have asked us to list, Surrogacy in the UK, Other Organisations, Groups and Government Bodies.
Please note C.O.T.S. does not sanction any of these external links and cannot be held responsible for any of their content. Should you find a link that isnt working please email us with details to kim@surrogacy.org.uk.

Counselling

BICA Accredited counsellors are recognised by the HFEA.

https://www.bica.net/find-a-counsellor

Adoption & Fostering

http://www.coram.org.uk

www.first4adoption.org.uk

https://www.bemyparent.org.uk

http://www.pathwaycare.com

http://www.barnardos.org.uk

Breast feeding your child

La Leche League GB
Website http://www.laleche.org.uk

National Breast Feeding Helpline
Website http://www.nationalbreastfeedinghelpline.org.uk/

Cancer Support

Cancer Research UK
Website http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/

Daisy Network

Early Ovarian Failure Support Group and Endometriosis.
Website http://www.daisynetwork.org.uk/

Childbirth

National Childbirth Trust
Website: https://www.nct.org.uk/

Active Birth Centre

Website http://activebirthcentre.com/

Birthchoiceuk
Website http://www.which.co.uk/birth-choice

Conception & Kits

SME Fertility
Ovulation & Pregnancy Kits etc.
Website http://www.sme-fertility.co.uk/

Babystart Ltd
Website https://babystart.co.uk/

Medisave (UK) Ltd

Website http://www.medisave.co.uk/

Request a basic DBS check - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Government Bodies

British Medical Association
BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP Telephone: 020 7387 4499 - Fax: 020 7383 6400 Website http://bma.org.uk/

Department of Health
Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS
0207 210 4850 (line open from 10.00 to 17.00 Monday to Friday).
Website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
Paxton House, 30 Artillery Lane, London E1 7LS
Tel 0207 291 8200 (line open from 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday) Fax: 0207 291 8201 Website http://www.hfea.gov.uk/

Surrogacy Act
Some links on the HFEA site that may be of interest - Section 27/28/29/30 regards surrogacy

HFEA ACT 1990 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/37/contents)
Section 27 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/37/contents#mdiv27)
Section 30 (http://www.surrogacy.org.uk/pdf/section30hfea.pdf)
Children's Act (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents)
Surrogacy Act (http://www.surrogacy.org.uk/pdf/Sur-act.pdf)

Independent Midwives

Independent Midwifery UK
Website: http://www.imuk.org.uk/

Infertility Support Groups

Fertility Friends
Website http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/

Infertility Network UK
http://www.infertilitynetworkuk.com/

Insurance

Life insurance for surrogate mother's. Single policy for Two year for at least £500,000 on life. If you can afford it please add critical illness cover. Please make sure that the policy is set in place before any attempts at inseminations/transfers take place. It may be the best idea to go to comparison sites to get the most competitive rates. Premiums vary from £77.00 per month to £96.00 per month including critical illness cover.

Aviva
http://www.aviva.co.uk/insurance/

Scottish Widows

Legal & General

Joshua Gerstler of The Orchard Practice (Life insurance)
FPFS, Cert SMP, FCA
Chartered Financial Planner

020 8953 8687
www.topfs.co.uk
2 Penta Court, Station Road
Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1SL

IVF International Couriers

https://ivfcouriers.com/

Maternity Rights

Children's and Family act new information (includes new maternity rights and pay information)

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-children-and-families-act-2014-gains-royal-assent

https://www.gov.uk/legal-rights-when-using-surrogates-and-donors/maternity-leave

Additionally a surrogate can get advice through the ACAS Helpline which is the official organisation that helps resolve issues

between employees and employers. http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2042

Medical Tests
COTS members receive a very good discount rate for blood tests at TDL, up to half of what an IVF unit charges.

The Doctors Laboratory
58 Wimpole Street, London W1M 8LQ
Telephone +44 (0)20 7307 7373 - Fax +44 (0)20 7307 7374
Website http://www.tdlpathology.com/ Email tdl@tdlpathology.com
For all medical tests required by COTS ie HIV etc. + DNA testing

DNA Diagnostics Centre

Non Evasive Pre Natal DNA Testing

http://www.dna-bioscience.co.uk/prenatal-testing.php

Miscarriage/Recurrent Miscarriages

Miscarriage Association
http://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/

Legal Support

Please note COTS cannot recommend one solicitor over another. Please check their fees before proceeding.

https://crbdirect.org.uk/

For the writing of wills any local solicitor can be used. Parental Orders do not always require a solicitor, it's your choice entirely. Surrogacy Agreements are unenforceable by law so no solicitor required for them either.

Michelle Miller

www.surrogacy wills.co.uk

Email: michelle@surrogacywills.co.uk

Telephone: 07702894710

Fees £125.00 for each will to include letter to clinic.

For a Non Will client the fee is just £49.00 for the legal letters for your IVF units.

Michelle is an expert in writing wills for surrogacy arrangements and also legal letters for your IVF units. As an IP herself she knows exactly how it all works and her fees are ultra reasonable. Check it out for yourselves.

Almond Wills

Telephone: 0843 886 5767

Email: enquiry@almondwills.com

www.almondwills.com

Very reasonable fees.

Penningtons Manches Cooper

Bethan is an associate in the family team in Guildford. She advises on all areas of private family law. She has a particular specialism in domestic and international surrogacy arrangements and frequently advises intended parents on their legal status. Her approach is to focus on finding a creative solution which works best for her clients’ individual situation and she has been described in The Legal 500 as ‘thorough, professional and knowledgeable’.

Bethan has written about surrogacy for a number of publications, including The Times and Glamour magazine, and last year was nominated for Surrogacy Professional of the Year at the National Surrogacy Awards. She has also appeared on BBC 1’s The Big Questions for a debate on surrogacy. You can follow Bethan on Instagram, @thesurrogacysolicitor, where she posts about surrogacy and fertility law in an attempt to raise awareness and make information more accessible for intended parents and surrogates.

bethan.carr@penningtonslaw.com

01483 791807

Fees are £250.00 plus VAT

Laytons LLP

Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street,
London EC2N 1ER
Tel: 020 7842 8000 London

Contact is Andrew Spearman

Andrew.Spearman@Laytons.com

Andrew is an experienced family law practitioner with a specialism in Surrogacy & Fertility law. He became a Partner at Laytons in 2019 and is Head of the Family Team, ensuring the highest quality of service and client care for each client.

In 2019, he was identified as a Leading Individual by the Legal 500 team for his work in the field of surrogacy law and parenthood. As a consequence of his extensive work, seminars and involvement with surrogacy charities, he is recognised both as a leader in his field and as having an ability to give practical, proportionate solutions to complex problems.

Fees are also £250.00 plus VAT

Russell-Cooke

Knowing that legal fees are another financial burden for intended parents / surrogates we do all we can to keep our costs down without comprising our advice service. For a fixed fee of £275 plus VAT we offer an initial legal review meeting (with myself) and a letter to the clinic following the meeting which confirms legal advice has been given. At present all of my meetings are taking place remotely either via Zoom or Teams but I am open to telephone consultations if that works better for the intended parents or surrogate.

To explain, the above advice service, is designed to give intended parents the information and confidence they need to go on and self-manage the parental order application but for those who feel they need a bit more support, I can be on standby and help in whatever way they like.

Jade Quirke
Associate

Direct: +44 (0)20 8541 2024
Main: +44 (0)20 8546 6111
Mobile: +44 (0)7593 820 368
Jade.Quirke@russell-cooke.co.uk
russell-cooke.co.uk

Freeths LLP

Freeths LLP is a firm of solicitors providing specialist help and advice to parents and parents-to-be. We guide our clients through all of the legal issues around domestic and international surrogacy, fertility treatment and donor conception.

Contact is Tom Burgess

Tel 0845 404 1715 Mobile 07809 091487

tom.burgess@freeths.co.uk

Rachael Oakes

Partner and Joint Head of the Family Wealth Team

T: 0845 128 6960

F: 0845 050 3200

M: 07972 753265

Fees £550.00 plus VAT

http://www.freeths.co.uk/legal-services/individuals/family-law/surrogacy-law/

Mills & Reeve

www.mills-reeve.com