About

A Message From Our President

By the time most of you come to our agency for help in finding an egg donor or gestational carrier, my guess is that you have had a journey filled with a lot of challenges, disappointments and heartaches along the way. If this is your first time contacting an agency, then I’m guessing you are also nervous about the process and still likely coming to terms with the idea of having someone else (a “stranger” at that), help you have a family.

So this is where I would like to tell you that everything WILL be okay. No matter how scared or nervous you are now, just continue to remind yourself that having a family is so often a practice in the art of perseverance. If you hang in there, sometimes even against pretty difficult odds, you will achieve your dream. The hardest part is overcoming your fear of asking others for help.

In over a decade of working with intended parents, I’ve have never had a single person come back and wish they had not gone through this process. I’ve never had a parent question whether they felt their child was 100% their own in every sense of the word (whether through egg donor or surrogate, or both). Nor have I had a parent come back and wish they hadn’t used the help of assisted reproductive technology, and the kindness of others, to help them build their family. The child you have is the one you are and always were meant to have.

We are here to help guide you along the way and help make this process just a little bit easier for you. Our goal is to share the burden of all you feel about what needs to be done. And hopefully, we are here to help facilitate everything that needs to be accomplished so that you can move forward with experiencing the joy that comes with building the family you’ve always envisioned.

Sincerely,

Wendie Wilson-Miller

I first heard about egg donation while in college in the early 1990s. The thought of helping others in need was very appealing to me from the start and of course, an added benefit was that I was able to quickly pay off student loans in what I felt was a “win-win” situation. To this day, nothing has compared to my experience as an egg donor. After each cycle I couldn’t wait to be matched again and help someone else. Eventually I began working in the industry and have made it my life’s work for over a decade.

During my journey in the ART industry, I came to meet a very special person, Wendie Wilson-Miller, who would later become an integral part of my professional life. Over the years, we formed a very strong bond and agreed to start an agency according to our own philosophy. From the moment we opened our doors I felt that my life was where it was supposed to be and things had fallen into place naturally. It’s an amazing feeling to wake up every day knowing I’m helping change someone’s life for the better, even though this process isn’t always easy.

It never stops making me happy to help hopeful parents through the process of choosing their donor. In sharing my own story with them, they are able to see the other side of the experience and realize just how much it means to a donor to help create a family. Each time I interview a prospective egg donor, I hope to inspire them as well, and they are, almost without exception, very responsive and enthusiastic. There is an abundance of altruistic, compassionate, and caring young women out there, each of whom are meant for special people just waiting to find them.

My first real introduction to the world of IVF came when my best friend experienced fertility issues and went through 5 unsuccessful IVF cycles. My professional life took a new direction when the lovely Wendie Wilson-Miller became a part of my family, and I had the opportunity to work with her. I started out vetting surrogates and helping them through the screening process. I very quickly transitioned into the role of surrogacy director and case manager, and have been ever since. It’s always an exciting day when I host a match meeting; It NEVER gets old witnessing people meet and connect with their surrogate. Once a match is confirmed, I am involved in the entire process from the beginning to the end. Receiving photos from the parents and surrogates when the babies are born is absolutely awesome!

Helping peoples dreams of parenthood is just so beautiful. I consider surrogates to be “earth angels”. Being a part of these journeys is truly a pleasure and an honor, and I find myself getting emotional from each and every journey.

The first time I was introduced to egg donation I was 20 years old and witnessed a good friend struggle with getting pregnant. One afternoon we were discussing what the next step was for her and she told me she was searching for an egg donor. I instantly offered her my eggs. Though she was not comfortable accepting them because she wanted it to be anonymous, the experience opened my eyes to a way I could help others. A few months later I came across a newspaper ad for an agency that was looking for egg donors. I carried it in my wallet for more than two years until I decided to stop thinking about it and actually do it.

Being a donor is in the top five things I am most grateful and proud of in my life. Being able to help a family realize their dream is indescribable and has become my life’s passion. Since I was limited as far as the number of people I could donate to, I figured the next best thing was to help them through the process of finding a donor and sharing my story.

There is nothing that makes me happier than to hear three little words: ”I am pregnant!” or “We are pregnant!” No matter how long I do this, or how many families share this news, I always seem to tear up. I hope that I get to hear those words from you!

I found egg donation by accident while looking for a part-time job. I was about 19 or so at the time and looking for a supplement to my income while I was in college. I really wanted to be able to take part in it, but knew that I didn’t yet have the scheduling flexibility I needed to make it happen. Fast forward five years, I’ve graduated college, I’m in a great part-time job, and wouldn’t you know it, I find another ad for egg donation! This time around I knew I was ready and I applied with Gifted Journeys.

It’s hard to express in words just how life changing it really is to be an egg donor. After my first donation, I knew this was something I was put on this earth to do. I loved every part of the process (yes, even the hormone injections!). I went on to donate four more times, and there are now seven healthy, ridiculously loved children out there in the world as a result. Helping dreams literally come to life is one of my greatest achievements.

My time as a donor allowed me to build incredible relationships with the Gifted Journeys team. I feel so fortunate that I was chosen to join this group of incredible women. It’s pretty special being able to support the journey of intended parents in creating the family their soul has been longing for.