Sensible Surrogacy / Exceptional Stork Inc. Reviews 

My husband and I began a surrogacy process in the United States and when we realised how expensive it could get, we explored other options. We found Bill/Sensible Surrogacy via Google Search and reached out. Bill was very responsive and knowledgable on the topic. As an affordable alternative, he connected us with a surrogacy program in Colombia. 18 months later, we had a beautiful and healthy daughter at about 1/3 of the cost if we had done it in the U.S. There were some cultural differences and communication challenges working with Colombia but, at the end of the day, we got exactly what we wanted from the program.

My wife and I feel deeply disappointed with this surrogacy agency. Nothing was clear from the beginning. They asked us for certain specific documents and they gave us a closed price. When we submitted the documents. Bill, who is in charge of this one-man business, said that since he found out that I had a disability, he was reluctant to accept us in the program. According to doctors, my disability is completely compatible with parenthood and my wife has no disability at all. We felt discriminated and mistreated. Respect and dignity is not a word in Sensible surrogacy's dictionary. This one-man surrogacy business might look cheaper than other options but I think it is worthy to try with other a bit more expensive agencies and get all the respect that as a customer we deserve.

I couldn't have been happier with Sensible Surrogacy. Bill and Trish were both wonderful throughout the entire process--basically holding our hands through each step. My husband and I are so grateful for their significant time and effort and now have a beautiful four month old son because of it. I would recommend them without hesitation.

Sensible surrogacy service is so great. The pregnancy went smoothly and having Bill as consultant along the way provides a lot of insights and assurance. I definitely recommend sensible surrogacy for any intended parents who is considering surrogacy.

William Hougton is an exceptional individual who will bring you success of having a baby
My experience with Bill has been an amazing one from start to finish. He has been extremely helpful and knowledgable in guiding me through this surrogacy process. He is extremely affable which is rare in this industry and a warm hearted person who will do his best to bring you to the best possible outcome. I would have given up if it wasn't for Bill's perserveerence. What's rare is that your failure is his failure so he really takes it to heart and do his best to give you options. His professionalism has always been excellent and knowledge in this very challenging industry is extensive, so I absolutely recommend Bill for anyone wanting Bill to help them have a baby as I believe he is the best in the industry and kind hearted at the same time in this sea of sharks you may come across.

My experience with Bill has been an amazing one from start to finish. He has been extremely helpful and knowledgable in guiding me through this surrogacy process. He is extremely affable which is rare in this industry and a warm hearted person who will do his best to bring you to the best possible outcome. I would have given up if it wasn't for Bill's perserveerence. What's rare is that your failure is his failure so he really takes it to heart and do his best to give you options. His professionalism has always been excellent and knowledge in this very challenging industry is extensive, so I absolutely recommend Bill for anyone wanting Bill to help them have a baby as I believe he is the best in the industry and kind hearted at the same time in this sea of sharks you may come across.

We are very grateful to Bill for his help and support. He responded quickly to our initial email, and patiently answered all our questions. He then put us in contact with Lev at Didilia in Kiev. We felt safe and taken care of the entire journey. Also, our surrogate said the same thing and that was very important for us. She was truly an amazing woman. Both Bill and Lev were available for us at any time, professional, supportive and compassionate. As I sit here watching our 5 months old daughter, I have nothing but good things to say about them.

I had already hired another company but was having cold feet and unsure I made the right choice so I started googling different surrogacy consultants from the US. I came across Bill and he helped me by letting me bounce all the things I was going through with my company but didn't charge me. He let me use him as a sounding board as someone who knows the inner workings of surrogacy. Highly recommend this honest man and can't say enough about him.

My wife and I have been trying to have a child for the past several years before attempting IVF. After a couple more years of health complications arising from the egg retrieval, we finally decided to look into a gestational surrogate to carry one of our frozen embryos. I came across Sensible Surrogacy while reading about our options and their blog was very useful in understanding our options. Bill was patient in answering all of my questions and we decided to proceed with pursuing surrogacy in Ukraine. Bill got us in touch with an agency there (Lev at Didilia). Lev guided us regarding the documents that were needed to establish a contract and got us in touch with a clinic there that would perform the embryo transfer. Bill also got us in touch with a medical courier who was very professional in transporting our embryos to the clinic in Ukraine. Lev helped us find a surrogate who we were happy with. Everything seemed to move smoothly after that. The embryo was transferred and resulted in a positive pregnancy in the first attempt. We received regular reports about the surrogate's health and living environment which helped us feel reassured. The surrogate was also very accommodating and careful with her health. Few months later we were traveling to Ukraine for the birth of our child. The baby came 2 weeks earlier than the due date mentioned on the ultrasound report. Luckily we had reached Ukraine two days before that. Lev helped us get situated in the hospital room for a couple of days after the birth and collected the necessary documents for processing the baby's US citizenship. Three weeks after our US embassy appointment, we had our baby's passport in hand and flew back home the next day. Lev even gifted us some Ukrainian souvenirs which was a nice touch. Overall, the process was very smooth and positive. Few tips to help future intended parents...(1) The DNA kit needed for the US embassy appointment can be ordered even before the child is born. If we had done this, we could have saved an additional week in processing the paperwork. (2) The language was more of a barrier than we expected. Using the Google Translate app's conversation mode can be helpful. (3) Uber was very convenient to use considering the language barrier and was economical as well. (4) We booked our accommodation through booking.com which allowed free cancellations. It would have been better to have several week-long bookings instead of a long one like we did. We could have found a better deal if we had waited for Lev to provide us with options.

My husband and I were thoroughly satisfied with Bill and his services. He was very sensitive and helpful along each part of the process and was very prompt in his response whenever we had questions or needed his advice. His agent in Ukraine (Lev) was also fabulous and spoke English well for smooth communication. In the beginning, Ukraine seemed like a far away country about which we had no information but after the process, we felt comfortable and feel we made a great choice in choosing Bill to guide us through the making of our family. There are many agencies out there in Ukraine, but we would recommend a smaller, intimate one like Bill's where you are guided every step of the way and there are no hidden agendas. We are forever grateful and hope the same goes for the potential parents-to-be out there.

Our Experience with Bill Houghton at Sensible Surrogacy was outstanding. He helped us achieve our dreams of becoming parents. My wife and I are extremely thankful for all the work they put in to helping us. We would also like to thank their partners in Ukraine (Lev Chekhov - Didilia) who made our journey in Ukraine an incredible experience. We loved Ukraine and can't wait to go visit again. If you are considering surrogacy services I recommend a smaller agency like Sensible surrogacy for a more personalized and comfortable experience. They are there for you 24/7. We are planning to do it again soon in hopes for a second child.

Bill Houghton and Sensible Surrogacy proved to be a committed, experienced and ETHICAL partner in helping my husband and I fulfill our family dreams. If not for Sensible Surrogacy we doubt that we would be parents today. I hope this review might give some hope to others who are currently searching for the right surrogacy agent or consultant.

We spent 7 years trying to have our own biological children. Then we spent years on adoption waiting lists. At the time we never considered surrogacy because, having spent nearly all of our savings trying to do IVF, we assumed it was financially out of our reach. Then in 2013, by some miracle I accidentally happened upon an obscure article online that mentioned low cost international surrogacy. I immediately called the agency mentioned in the article. The agency seemed very lacking and unprofessional, but the seed was planted and I kept up my online search.

At this point we had nothing left to lose. With only a few thousand left in our savings, and still waiting on adoption lists, international surrogacy seemed like the best last ditch effort we could make. So, I kept looking online and hoped that the universe would lead us down the right path.

Well, needless to say, somehow I was lead to the Sensible Surrogacy site. For some reason the site spoke louder to me than the handful I had found. I’ll never forget that first video call we had with Bill Houghton. He told us about his own experience with surrogacy and we could hear his babies in the background. All of our fears about ethics and honesty simply disappeared and we just somehow knew we had, at long last, found the means by which we would have our family.

Within a few days of that first call Bill forwarded us about 30 egg donor profiles and then went to work on our surrogate selection process. One step just lead to the next step, which lead to the next, and before we knew it, in less than 1 year from that first phone call, we were on a plane bound for Bangkok to pick up our son. The whole flight we were overcome with amazement and excitement and gratitude for all the events that lead us to that moment.

Maybe we are just lucky ones, but the pregnancy seemed to go by lightning fast. We had one failed transfer and then we were pregnant. I often wonder if the speed at which those 9 months flew by would have seemed slower had our surrogate lived in the same town as us. It was almost as if the whole process had a life of its own, going on for our benefit but without requiring much of our direct involvement.

Given no other alternative, we just "trusted" the entire time. We were updated weekly on the progress of our surrogate. Every lab test and medical report was emailed to us as soon as they were released. I had a lot of questions, tons of questions! Perhaps ten per email and two emails a week! Bill would answer what he could right away. Those that he could not answer he consulted with the doctor and responded within a few days. And those that neither he nor the doctor could answer, he would give me his thoroughly researched opinion. Just like any pregnancy there were ups and downs as we waited for news of the next milestone. There were times I expressed anxiety. But Bill understood what we were going through, he had been there himself.

The trip to Bangkok will be etched in my memory forever. We were present for the birth. We got to spend some time with our surrogate in the hospital and we even met her mother. When my parents flew out, the two families met. We found her to be an extremely cheerful and happy young woman, which probably contributed greatly to our son's similar demeanor. And, she was grateful. She told us that being our surrogate provided opportunities to her own kids that she could otherwise never have been able to give them. This knowledge gave us an even deeper gratitude towards Sensible Surrogacy and all others that support and sustain international commercial surrogacy. We left there feeling like everyone involved in the journey benefited deeply and equally from the experience.

Bill's job did not end with the birth of our son. His local team also collected all the correct paperwork to not only exit Thailand quickly but also to ensure that we had all the proper documents needed for our official state-side "adoption”, so that my name would be placed on the official US birth certificate as "mother".

"Working" closely with Bill and his team on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis for almost a year’s time gave me the opportunity to really get to know him. I can honestly say that Bill operates as a true advocate for his clients as well as his surrogates. He is not a salesman, he will not try and blow smoke and will not try to sell you things you do not need.

It’s obvious that Bill’s allegiance is to his clients and NOT to his providers. He will empathize with your anxieties, but he will not play into them; he will maintain the voice of reason. But Bill will go the extra mile to ensure your best chances of success. He will think out of the box and will come up with choices. The choices are yours to make, but he will not be afraid to tell you what he thinks and what he recommends. His recommendations are based on years of experience. He will not sugar coat things. If he cannot do something, or believes something to be unethical, he will not be afraid to tell you. He is not a hand holder, he does not play into anxieties, but would much rather deal with situations using a realistic, non-dramatic approach. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the Sensible Surrogacy team and Bill Houghton. I cannot counter-balance this review with any criticisms because I simply cannot think of anything he should have done differently.

As I search for platforms to review Sensible Surrogacy, I'm amazed to see pages upon pages of ads for international surrogacy agencies. Only 6 years ago there were no more than a mere handful. I'm not at all surprised to see that Sensible Surrogacy has endured and grown into one of the top full service, multi-national surrogacy companies. It swells my heart to think of all the hundreds of babies that Bill has delivered into the hands of waiting parents, just like he did for us, and of all babies he will soon be helping to deliver to future parents. Some of those future parents are right now doing their internet research just like I was doing on that fateful day I chanced upon the Sensible Surrogacy website. Best wishes to all of you!