Our events are a wonderful way to get to know others that are in the same situation as yourself. Whether you are Intended Parents or a Potential Surrogate just starting out, you will find that meeting with others experienced in surrogacy is very beneficial. All our events are open to Non Members as well as Gold Members.

We hold two types of events:

Conferences are held over 2 weekends a year (in Spring and Autumn). They give members the choice of arriving earlier, for instance on the Friday evening. The main event day tends to be the Saturday when seminars and workshops take place. A social event, such as a Quiz, is organised for Saturday evening. The event concludes on Sunday around lunchtime. Accommodation is available on a first-come-first-served basis and may be booked through our Events Co-Ordinator once the venue has been confirmed. Booking Forms are available to download from the message board or sent out to Gold Members with the Newsletter. Non Members can request a booking form via the Events Co-Ordinator.

Social Events are held monthly all over the country in a casual and informal atmosphere, usually on a Saturday afternoon at a child friendly restaurant. We tend to meet at around 12 noon for a 1pm lunch, then spend the rest of the afternoon chatting.

We are very pleased to see that those members attending our events and participating on our message board are finding lifelong friends and in many cases, the person to start their surrogacy journey with. We believe this to be a good foundation for a successful surrogacy journey.

For details of our forthcoming events or to arrange a Social in your local area (Gold Members only) please contact Zena McFadzenai, our Events Co-Ordinator via this Email Link.

For further information please refer to the "Conferences & Social Events" forum on our message board.

Events for 2010

Dates subject to change - please see the Social Gatherings forum on the message board for full details.

(date tbc) March Social, Milton Keynes
April 10th Spring Conference, Staffordshire
May 1st Social, New Forest
(date tbc) June SurrogacyUK Barbeque, Herefordshire
(date tbc) July Super Social & Sportsday, Yorkshire
(date tbc) July Super Social, Southern England (Venue TBC)
(date tbc) October Autumn Conference & 8th AGM (venue tbc)

First Experience of an Event

What a beautiful place for your first Conference. The former nunnery and stopping off point of Bonnie Prince Charles is a very grand house that I would not have associated with Youth Hostels.

A lot of my nerves had dissolved after the social in York the previous month. Thank you to all of you who were encouraging and welcoming on the message boards. Especially to the small group who made it to York.

However, going to the Spring Conference at Hartington Hall I'd developed new apprehensions. My fiancée has known since well before meeting me that surrogacy may be her only option if she wanted children. I'd only ever heard about it on Trisha years ago. I'd never seen when I might need to travel that road. It was only for people with poor fertility, wasn't it? My youthful arrogance said "So, why would I be infertile!?" And there lay the two biggest worries I had before the Conference. We're on our surrogacy journey because of a 50% fatality risk to both mother and child as a result of pulmonary hypertension. As such, how could I relate to those who have gone through years of IVF, especially those blokes with few/poor sperm? And would I now find myself infertile too!?

It came as a shock that couples were at Hartington for reasons other than low/poor fertility. An even more pleasant surprise came on the Saturday afternoon. Whilst the IMs and SMs were having their sessions, there I was talking with two lads who have gone through IVF and a third who had successfully gone through IVF and was now supporting his wife along their new host SM journey. The four of us even managed to answer questions that I most definitely would not have felt comfortable asking during our IF session. In addition to finding out more about surrogacy and SUK, the weekend gave us a chance to get on with the equally important task of socialising and making new friends. Chatting and sharing a dorm with another couple definitely helped. There are several people from Hartington I'd like to consider as friends. I hope they will count us as friends also. I look forward to making many more.

Thank you to everybody for making us so welcome to the boards and the events. Thank you for answering my questions, even ones I didn't know I had! I'm looking forward to seeing you all at another event soon.

Here's to an enjoyable journey along the surrogacy road for all of us. No matter how you get here.

Our first social gathering was in Leeds in the February just gone. We had had a bad time in the week before it arranging Denis's time off as he'd forgotten and then a lot of other things got in the way, but we did manage to make it!! We spent the whole trip there thinking something else was going to go wrong, or we'd arrive at the wrong place... we just didn't think it would have gone as it did!!!

So we pulled up at the pub where the social gathering was taking place, I made sure I took my time getting Bethany out of the car as I was so nervous! Part of me just wanted to go back home and forget about it! Anyway, we saw a few people going in and wondered if they'd be part of the SUK gang. We made our way in and Declan decided he needed the toilet (wahey more time for me to think about going home!) We emerged from the toilets and decided to walk the length of the pub as I'd completely forgotten where I read people would be meeting, then I saw the SUK poster and saw a nice, normal, friendly-looking couple sorting tables and whatever!

The nice normal couple was to be Lizzie and Lee, the people hosting the social gathering, and we were the first to arrive. So we got a drink, sat down, and got chatting. I honestly can't remember ever feeling so welcome with complete strangers before! I was so relaxed I didn't mind leaving them with my little princess while I took Declan to the toilet again! I felt right at home straight away, then others began to arrive and I wasn't too shy to introduce myself or talk to people!

Later on in the day Sarah and Jim arrived and Jim was amazing, he fully explained everything to Denis and answered any doubts or questions he had. He talked to us as if he'd known us for years and although some of our questions may have been a little strange, he fully understood what we meant and he didn't laugh!!

For me, it was good to talk to people about why I wanted to be a surrogate, especially being so young and having two young children a lot of friends and family didn't understand why I want to do this now. but no-one questioned me on anything, they understood what I wanted to do and fully supported me. I also met a lovely expectant Intended Mother, who now has a lovely bouncing baby boy and it was nice to talk to her in all her excitement of his arrival! She just proved to me that what I want to do is right for me!

All in all we had a wonderful day, met lots of nice people and we both left in a positive frame of mind. Denis had been a little taken aback when I told him what I wanted to do and if he'd got there and not felt comfortable, he probably would have said he didn't want me to do it, but on our way home we decided we can do this if we do it together and take our time so we know we have everything right!

By Gemma & Denis