Irish legal experts and fertility counsellors will be among the speakers at a conference organised by the international not-for-profit Families Through Surrogacy next month.
This will be the first time the event is held in Ireland, where there are currently no laws surrounding surrogacy.
Made popular by celebrities such as Georgia Salpa, who became mum to twin boys through a US surrogate, Lucy Liu, who chose a surrogate to deliver
her son Rockwell Lloyd Liu and
Tyra Banks, who thanked a surrogate she called "an angel" for carrying her son York, surrogacy in countries such as the UK, Greece, Mexico, Israel and Australia is altruistic in nature, meaning surrogates can only be paid expenses, which start at around €12,000. As speaker Dr. Kim Bergman will explain, understanding what motivates surrogates to carry and what psychological and personal issues are important is crucial.
Irish parents, including John Duffy, who along with his wife became a parent to a baby boy through an Indian surrogate two years ago, will talk about their journeys, how they chose a country, found service providers and navigated the legal and logistical aspects. They'll also discuss the real costs and how they dealt with these.
The conference will also offer legal advice on what parents need to prepare prior and following birth in order to ensure a smooth return to Ireland with their child, as well as a segment on how to speak to your child about the story of their birth.
The Families Through Surrogacy Conference will take place at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, on Sunday, March 6, 12pm-6pm. Tickets, from €47, are available on eventbrite.ie. The National Infertility Support and Information Group (NISIG) also runs a surrogacy support group, click here for more details. 
