Matching

What if your agency has no available surrogates?

Do not focus only on the current catalog. Ask how the agency recruits, how long families at your stage are actually waiting, whether your agreement is exclusive, and what options you have to expand the search.

Short answer: “No candidates today” is not automatically a red flag. The key is whether the agency has a credible recruitment pipeline and transparent expectations for how long you may wait.

Questions to ask immediately

  1. How many new candidates entered screening in the last 30–90 days?
  2. How many intended-parent families are ahead of us?
  3. What is the typical time from joining to receiving the first suitable profile?
  4. Are we allowed to search outside the agency?
  5. If we match elsewhere, what fees are refundable?

Do not confuse “available profiles” with effective supply

A large catalog can still be a poor fit if many candidates are outside your budget, geographically unsuitable, not yet medically cleared, or have narrow matching preferences. Conversely, an agency with few visible profiles may have a strong pipeline of new candidates moving through screening.

Your main options

1. Stay and wait

This can make sense if the agency has a reliable recruitment pipeline, you trust the team, and your contract terms are reasonable.

2. Expand the search

If your agreement permits it, consider additional agencies, a broader matching platform, referral networks, or independent recruitment channels. Expanding the funnel can increase the number of candidates considered, but every candidate still needs proper screening.

3. Revisit your matching criteria

Ask whether compensation budget, geography, experience requirements, vaccination preferences, communication expectations or other criteria are making the pool unusually small. Do not compromise on medical or legal safety, but distinguish essential requirements from preferences.

4. Change agencies

If the agency cannot explain its recruitment pipeline, repeatedly moves the expected timeline, or imposes restrictive terms without delivering matching opportunities, review the cancellation and refund provisions with counsel before deciding whether to leave.

How long should you wait before reconsidering?

There is no universal cutoff. The better signal is whether the agency's actual progress matches what it promised: new candidate flow, profile presentations, communication quality and realistic explanations for why candidates are or are not a fit.

Agency waiting lists · Working with multiple agencies · Finding available surrogates