The San Francisco Surrogacy Conference & Expo returns in 2018 with surrogacy parenting options in both the USA and Canada!
Our 5th annual West Coast Men Having Babies conference will be held once again at the spacious and well positioned Marines’ Memorial Club and Hotel. The conference brings together community activists, medical and legal experts, parents and surrogate mothers. Prospective parents will benefit from practical and personal peer advice and opportunities to meet a wide range of leading providers from the USA and Canada at the Gay Parenting Expo, breakout sessions and in private consultations. In-depth programs will offer insights from the latest studies about contemporary gestational surrogacy in the United States, and specialty panels on insurance, budgeting, legal, medical and psychological aspects of surrogacy.
For the first time the conference will also offer content for Chinese prospective parents who are interested in learning how to work directly with USA and Canadian providers, avoiding the financial and ethical disadvantages of using additional layers of intermediaries.
The conference is based on a format MHB developed over the last 13 years in NY, Chicago, Dallas, Barcelona, Brussels and Tel Aviv. Proceeds from sponsorship and exhibiting fees will benefit the Gay Parenting Assistance Program and Our Family Coalition.
Note: while the event is organized by gay parenting organizations, non-gay prospective surrogacy parents are welcome and will no doubt highly benefit from it as well.


609 Sutter Street, San Francisco.
Agenda in brief
(more details here)
Saturday, January 13:
• 3:00 - 3:30pm: Registration
• 3:30 - 4:45pm: Is surrogacy right for you? Overview and personal stories - hear from several surrogates and parents
• 4:45 - 5:00pm: Coffee Break
• 5:00 - 6:15pm: A mindful look at surrogacy - Attitudes and Ethics.
• 6:15 - 6:45pm: Break/ light supper (courtesy of International Surrogacy Center)
• 6:45 - 8:00pm: Planning your parenting journey - major legal, medical and financial considerations
• 8:00pm: Parents / Intended Parents’ Happy Hour
• 9:00pm: A screening of the acclaimed gay surrogacy movie "Baby Steps,” and a discussion with Barney Cheng, the director and star of the movie.
Sunday, January 14:
• 8:30 - 9:00am: Registration
• 9:00 - 10:15am: Picking providers, budgeting and financial assistance (GPAP)
• 10:15 - 10:30am: coffee break
• 10:30 - 11:45am: Expert panel: Medical aspects of surrogacy.
• 11:45am -1:15pm: Lunch (courtesy of San Diego Fertility Center) and gay parenting expo (tables of surrogacy agencies, clinics, lawyers and community organizations).
• 1:15 - 2:30pm: Expert panel: Budgeting and insurance
• 2:30 - 4:30pm: Breakout sessions - learn more about participating surrogacy providers.
• 3:00 - 8:00pm: Optional private consultations
• 4:30 - 5:30pm: Networking reception & gay parenting expo.
• 5:30 - 6:30pm: Specialty sessions:
- Expert legal panel
- Life After Birth: Resources and Family Support Services with Our Family Coalition
- The Gay Parenting Assistance Program (GPAP) - Q&A
Supportive Community & Media Organizations
About Our Family Coalition

Are you a parent or intended parent through surrogacy? Are you a surrogate? Are you an egg donor? Help us advance our understanding of surrogacy!
“The Surrogacy Pathways: An Anthropological Analysis” looks to examine the journey of all the subjects involved in these experiences: egg donors, surrogates and intended parents. Especially, the research focuses on a comparison between the expectations and reality before and after the delivery and on the negotiation of the relatedness (Carsten, 2004) between parties.

- For further information see Dr. Guerzoni at the SF conference, or go to www.westernfertility.com/research
- Contact Dr. Guerzoni: corinna@westernfertility.com