What is a boutique surrogacy agency?
A boutique surrogacy agency runs a small number of matches with a small team. The person who takes your first call is often the person who runs your match, and you know your case manager's name before you sign.
Private Label Surrogacy is a boutique agency. Nancy Block, RN, founded it in Northbrook, Illinois, in 2017, after 15 years running The Center for Egg Options Illinois. Here is who does the work:
- Matching: Nancy Block, RN, personally. She has made more than 2,500 matches across her career.
- Medical record review: Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, Executive Director, reads every surrogate candidate's prenatal and delivery records and writes a physician medical summary for your clinic.
- Case management: two case managers, Natalie Gaudio-Fricano and Jenni Symons, carry every active match. Both are former surrogates.
- National and international cycles: Jan Telman Berman, Global Surrogacy Coordinator, with more than 18 years in the field.
- Nutrition: Julie Bendix, MPH, RD, LD, CLC, with at least six consults per surrogate across the journey.
"Boutique" describes size, not quality. A small team can mean senior people on every file. It can also mean fewer surrogates available on a given day. Both are true, and both belong in your decision.
What does a national agency do differently?
A national agency runs hundreds of matches a year, often across several offices. The structure is different, not better or worse.
- More people per journey. An intake team, a matching team, coordinators and specialists. Your contact may change at each stage.
- Services under one roof. Many national agencies provide legal, counseling and sometimes escrow in house. That is convenient: one company, one schedule, one set of forms.
- Program options. Some sell fixed-price or guarantee programs that a small agency does not offer.
- A larger surrogate pool. A bigger recruiting operation usually means more candidates at any moment, which matters most if your criteria are narrow.
None of these is a reason to choose or reject a national agency on its own. Each one has a question attached, and the sections below give you the question.
Caseload and who answers the phone at 2 a.m.
Caseload is the number of active matches one case manager carries. It decides how fast your calls are returned and whether the person who answers knows your file without looking it up.
Industry estimates put caseloads at some national agencies at 30 to 60 cases per coordinator. That range is an estimate, not a figure any agency publishes. Do not rely on an estimate. Ask each agency for its number, today, and for the name of the person who would manage your journey.
At PLS, two case managers carry all active matches, and the caseload is capped. Cap: 50 active matches per case manager. Natalie delivered a boy for an international couple in October 2016 after a first-transfer success, and has worked in medicine since 2002. Jenni delivered in 2019 and 2021. When a surrogate calls with a question about week 30, she is talking to someone who has been at week 30.
Then there is the call that comes at night. One night, PLS's after-hours team rebooked a stranded surrogate's hotel, car and flight while another PLS surrogate was delivering twins. Ask every agency the same thing: who answers after hours, and does that person know my file?
Bundled services vs independent professionals: the conflict question
When an agency bundles legal, counseling and escrow, one company sets every fee and, in some cases, holds the money. The attorney, the psychologist and the escrow officer answer to the same employer. That is convenient. It also means no one in the room is independent of the agency.
PLS does not employ psychologists, attorneys or escrow staff, on purpose. It refers you to independent licensed professionals:
- Escrow. You fund an independent licensed escrow agent, $10,000 at match and the balance before medications start. You may choose your own escrow company. PLS has always used independent licensed escrow and has never held client funds. See how escrow works.
- Legal. You and your surrogate each have your own attorney. Illinois's Equality for Every Family Act, signed in December 2025, requires independent counsel for both sides. Statute details pending review by counsel.
- Psychological evaluation. Done by an independent licensed professional, not an agency employee.
Size is not safety. The Surro Connections collapse in late 2025, followed by a federal indictment in August 2026, and the SEAM escrow failure, which involved more than $16 million, left families unable to reach money they had deposited. Independent escrow is the safety feature, at any size.
Matching speed and surrogate pool size
A national pool can match faster, especially if you have narrow criteria: a surrogate in a specific state, a particular stance on selective reduction, or a short window for transfer.
At PLS, matching takes about 6 months. Measured from signing to surrogate introduction, the wait today is about 9 months, with a target of 6 or fewer. PLS recruits surrogates in about 20 surrogacy-friendly states. The whole journey typically runs 18 to 24 months.
When you compare speed, compare definitions. "Average time to match" can start at signing, at completed intake or at profile approval. Ask each agency:
- What is your current average wait, and from which event to which event?
- What date is that figure from?
- How many screened surrogates are available today who fit our criteria?
Speed and screening depth pull against each other. At PLS, every candidate completes an application, interview, records review by Dr. Silverberg, background check, insurance review, psychological evaluation by an independent licensed professional and clinic medical screening. Each step takes time. Each step also lowers the chance that a surrogate is ruled out after you have paid for legal work and travel.
Price, guarantees and rematch terms
The agency fee is a minority of what you will spend. A whole journey typically costs $150,000 to $210,000, including clinic fees and insurance. Surrogate compensation, insurance and clinic fees drive the total, and those are similar whatever the agency's size. A boutique agency's fee is often lower, but the difference rarely changes the total by much.
PLS's fees:
- Program fee: $47,500. It is paid $22,500 at signing, $20,000 at surrogate acceptance and $5,000 at medical clearance.
- Third-party costs (legal, escrow, psychological evaluation, background check, insurance review, travel, monitoring): $15,300 to $29,000.
- Surrogate health insurance, if her plan excludes surrogacy: $5,000 to $40,000.
- Surrogate compensation: a typical total package of roughly $68,000 to $78,000, including first-time base compensation of $60,000 (proposed). Confirm with Nancy.
Guarantees. Some national agencies sell fixed-price programs. Read what the price covers, what it excludes, and the conditions that must be met. PLS's Assured tier, at $62,500, offers priority matching, unlimited rematches and no new agency fee if the first surrogate does not succeed. It is not a fixed price for the whole journey.
Rematch terms. Ask every agency what happens to each part of the fee if a match ends before transfer, or if a transfer fails. The answer matters more than a few thousand dollars of difference in the headline fee.
Which model fits which family
| Boutique agency (PLS figures) | National agency (ask for the figure) | |
|---|---|---|
| Caseload per case manager | Two case managers carry all active matches; caseload capped | Industry estimate 30 to 60 per coordinator; ask for the agency's number |
| Legal, psych and escrow | Referred to independent professionals; independent licensed escrow only | Often in house or bundled; ask who holds the money |
| Matching time | About 6 months to match; about 9 months from signing to introduction | Often faster with a larger pool; ask for the current, dated average |
| Agency fee | $47,500 program fee | Ask for the published fee and what it covers |
| Guarantee options | Assured tier, $62,500: unlimited rematches, no new agency fee if the first surrogate does not succeed | Some offer fixed-price programs; read the conditions |
| Surrogate pay | $60,000 first-time base (proposed); typical total package $68,000 to $78,000 | Ask for the base and the itemized total package |
| States served | Surrogates in about 20 surrogacy-friendly states; parents across the US and abroad | Ask which states, for surrogates and for parents |
| Who you talk to | Nancy Block, RN, at matching; a named case manager through birth | Ask who, by name, at each stage |
A boutique agency may fit you if you want the founder involved in your match, want to know your case manager's caseload before you sign, and want independent attorneys, psychologists and escrow.
A national agency may fit you if you want a fixed-price program, prefer legal services from your agency, or have narrow criteria that need the largest possible pool.
For criteria you can check at any agency, see how to judge the best surrogacy agencies in Illinois and Chicago. For local fees side by side, see Illinois surrogacy agencies compared. If you would rather run the journey yourself, read agency vs matching platform.
To walk through your criteria with Nancy, book a consultation.
Sources
- Private Label Surrogacy fee schedule, compensation schedule and screening process.
- Illinois Equality for Every Family Act (2025) and Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.
- SEEDS, Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy.
- [News reporting and court filings on the Surro Connections and SEAM collapses: outlet or court, date.]
- [Source for the industry caseload estimate of 30 to 60 cases per coordinator, or remove the figure.]