M & S
OUR STORY
Although we worked right across the street from each other in graduate school, a dating app brought us together. We were both pursuing our PhDs – S was getting hers in Stem Cell Biology and M in Organic Chemistry – and you could say our first on-campus coffee date was “instant chemistry.” After that date, we grew closer through our shared love of adventure, brain-teasing puzzles (we solve the New York Times crossword every night together), exploring new restaurants as self-proclaimed foodies, cooking, spending time with friends, and traveling. Fast-forward five years: S received a mysterious puzzle pack from M that led them on a two-day adventure through Santa Cruz, including hiking, camping in a yurt, drinking her favorite sour beers, skydiving, and culminating in a proposal. All of that led to yet another adventure as we planned a wedding during COVID.
OUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
M & S both work in healthcare and are focused on developing treatments for some of the
most challenging diseases. S works at a company researching therapies for rare pediatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Outside of work, she enjoys bingeing the latest Netflix dramas, tending to her ever-growing houseplant collection, and attending workout classes. M is a medicinal chemist focused on developing drugs for the treatment of cancer. He is an avid runner who has completed three marathons (with a 4th coming up), a coffee enthusiast always working to improve his latte art, and a home cook in training who likes to explore new cuisines for dinner.
We are always on the go as a couple, and our weekends are filled with friends and family. We value close personal friendships and have a regular rotating dinner club with our friend group (we just won this year’s guacamole-off!). We also enjoy traveling with friends and most recently took trip to Monterey (for a half marathon), Napa, and Tahoe. We are very fortunate to have our family nearby so we can regularly meet up to share home-cooked meals, play mahjong, and catch up on every detail of our lives. If you ask people to describe us, they say we are a very social couple with a goofy side that comes out with friends and family. In our rare downtime, we enjoy compiling our own crossword puzzles and submitting them to newspapers, working toward our yearly goal of reading at least five books each year (which S flies through and M struggles with….), and tackling the never-ending list of home repairs.
WHAT LED US TO SURROGACY
Our fertility journey has been a long and winding road but we feel more hopeful than ever as we begin the search for a surrogate match. After unsuccessfully trying to conceive and doing initial fertility testing, we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility by our OBGYN and began working with a fertility clinic. There, S was formally diagnosed with Asherman’s syndrome and adenomyosis. Although we were in some ways relieved that our fertility challenges were now “explained”, the next several years provided how challenging that diagnosis would be to address.After 4 hysteroscopic surgeries to remove uterine scar tissue, visits to two Asherman’s specialists advised us to proceed with surrogacy. We suffer from a particularly aggressive form of Asherman’s syndrome where the scar tissue reforms very quickly and usually worse than before. Given the aggressive nature of the scar tissue, it is also likely that any resulting pregnancy would have a high risk of severe complications, including placenta accreta/previa. We feel incredibly grateful that there are women in the world with the generosity ofspirit to help us realize our dream of building a family.
OUR HOPES AND DREAMS FOR OUR FUTURE CHILD
Our hope is that our child grows up surrounded by the friends and family that have brought us so much joy, purpose, and support over our 10 years together. We imagine weekends where we wake up, go for a hike on San Bruno mountain, come back to ur place, and prepare a large brunch with friends and family while all the kids play together in the backyard. We want our child to be close with our family, with dinners and games on Sundays at our parents’ place. It is important to us that our child feels love unconditionally and that they know they have our full support in pursuing all of their interests and dreams. We want to cultivate a home that is fun, full of creativity and possibility, prioritizes kindness and gratitude, and that lets everyone be their authentic selves.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN A MATCH
We are looking for a kind and compassionate woman who shares our excitement for this incredible journey. We envision a relationship built on open communication, mutual respect, and warmth. We know that surrogacy is a labor of love, and we are looking for someone who feels that same spark of joy in helping to create our family.
We are flexible on communication frequency and value clear, honest, and open communication on both ends. We would love to share in the excitement of every milestone and to celebrate and support you through the entire process. If distance allows, we would be excited to join appointments in person.
We want you to feel appreciated, respected, and supported every step of the way. During the process, we envision forming a meaningful connection where we can share life updates and work through any challenging parts of our journey together.
EXTRA INFORMAITON
Names: M & S
Location: San Bruno, CA
Number of Embryos: 10 PGT/S embryos
Agency/Management Team: The Biggest Ask
Fertility Clinic: RMA of Northern California
Surrogate Compensation: Medium/High
Requirements: No more than 2 previous c-sections, willing to get vaccines
Could you be their surrogate?
If you’re interested in learning more about M & S please email [email protected] with the subject line M & S
