speaks to

 Kevin Eubank

with

 Growing

 Generations!

Since 1996, Growing Generations has been a company passionately dedicated to the vision of creating life and, in the process, changing the world. Founded by gay and lesbian parents, our mission is simple - to build families of choice for our community through surrogacy, egg donation, and sperm donation.
As the largest agency of its kind anywhere in the world, Growing Generations has created a unique and comprehensive approach to serving members of the gay and lesbian community. Our professional staff is highly trained and educated to assist Intended Parents, surrogates and donors throughout the entire family creation process.
Our headquarters are in Los Angeles with our largest office (currently 16 staff members) in Wheeling, WV. We also have satellite offices in NYC and Boston.
 
Jim:  How did you become acquainted with the agency?
 
Eubank:  I found Growing Generations through an employment ad during a job search.
 
Jim: What is your current position with them and highlight your work.
 
Eubank:  I am an Admissions Coordinator working with the first stages of donor admissions into the program. I process applications based on many criteria, track documents and conduct personal interviews.
 
Jim:  What brings you to this area?
 
Eubank:  I moved to West Virginia a little over a year ago from the high mountain desert of New Mexico. I am from the east coast and simply missed green trees, grass and water.
 
Jim:  Is there a growing trend in same sex couples parenting?
 
Eubank:  There is, yes. As legalities become more clearly defined and same sex couples are becoming more common, more and more people want to create family within that union.
 
Jim:  Tell us how participating in the program as a sperm or egg donor can change lives.
 
Eubank:  The best way for me to answer this question is to provide this link to video of egg donors talking about their experience. http://www.eggdonorwebsite.com/growinggen/ff/donor_video1.php
 
Jim:  Does your company deal solely with gay and lesbian couples wishing to adopt?
 
Eubank:  We are not involved in adoption. Growing Generations brings together all of the people and elements such as medical, legal and coordination to accomplish the goal of bringing a new life into the arms of our Intended Parents. While the vast majority of our clients are of the GLBT community we do work with straight singles and couples as well.
 
Jim:  What about the donors?  How are they screened?
 
Eubank:  Growing Generations’ donors represent a diverse collage of individuality, from gifted students and world-class athletes to talented artists and brilliant musicians. We hand-pick our donors from a vast pool of applicants, based on their creativity, charisma and intelligence, paying close attention to those who embody passion and enthusiasm in all areas of their lives. Culturally and ethnically diverse, Growing Generations’ donors provide for a unique spectrum of choice allowing the Intended Parent to select a donor based on their own personal genetic desires.

All of our donors are personally screened in order to provide Intended Parents with verified, consistent information regarding medical history, academic achievement and physical appearance. In addition, each applicant to our Donor Programs undergoes a psychological and genetic evaluation. The applicants that we ultimately accept into the program each have their own unique reasons for becoming Growing Generations’ donors; however, one fundamental commitment unifies them all: to ardently bring the gift of life and tremendously change the world for Intended Parents within the gay and lesbian community.
 
Jim:  What are the first steps of a couple who wishes to participate?
 
Eubank:  Growing Generations’ Surrogacy Program begins with a private, no-cost, 90 minute consultation in our offices. At this time, we will explain the program to you, mapping out in detail how donor eggs will be retrieved, fertilized to create embryos, and then implanted into a surrogate through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). You will also be given the opportunity to meet our staff during your consultation. If you decide that Growing Generations’ Surrogacy Program is the right choice for you, you will be professionally guided through the process of retaining our services and participating in the admissions procedures. Once the admissions process is complete, you will be eligible to be matched with a surrogate, and when the appropriate candidate is determined, will be sent her profile for review. If you decide that you would like to meet the surrogate, Growing Generations will set up and facilitate a match meeting in our offices.
After choosing a surrogate, egg donor and/or sperm donor (as applicable), you will enter the legal contract and medical phase. From start to finish, the surrogacy program for most Intended Parents covers a span of time between 15 and  20 months.
 
Jim:  Do you have demographics on the success of these types of adoptions?
 
Eubank:  Based on helping close to 1,000 members of the gay and lesbian community, from more than 20 countries around the world, Growing Generations can offer a general predictability for  pregnancy success rates , where 60% of our past clients have become pregnant on the first attempt and 90% pregnant by the second or third attempt.
 
Jim:  How is a relationship (partnership), union or marriage qualified as stable enough to adopt a child?  What are the factors involved in determining this?
 
Eubank:  Intended Parents can be either a couple or a single. The level of commitment is demonstrated by the amount of time the whole process takes (which can be up to  20  months) as well as the considerable financial investment involved. Our Case Management Team develops a very personal relationship with each client. Determining something of such a subtle nature involves many aspects, perspectives and considerations.
 
Jim:  What factors should a couple be considering before taking this very big step into parenting a child?
 
Eubank:  These considerations are the same for any parent in the world. While being a gay parent has its unique challenges and rewards, all parents bear the same responsibilities to the children they bring into the world whether it be through surrogacy or traditional reproduction.
 
Jim:  How long is the screening process to become a donor and exactly what does this process consist of?
 
Eubank:  The process begins with completing an online application with many questions regarding education, genetics, personality, character, and family history. Each application is evaluated by the system automatically, then by me personally. If an applicant is accepted, I call them to conduct a telephone interview to discuss our process, answer questions and get an initial impression of the applicant. Next, the application is forwarded to  our Admissions  Coordinator in our Los Angeles office who schedules and in-office appointment where the applicant is screened through the use of GAMA (IQ Testing) and MMPI (Personality Screening). If this screening is successful, the donor waits to be selected by Intended Parents then, begins medical and genetic screening. The whole process is very detailed and inflexible to ensure that the donor is well suited to the desires of the Intended Parents as well as emotionally and psychologically prepared to commit to the process. The Egg Donor process is approximately 2 - 4 months. The Sperm Donor process is 6 months and is involves a different medical screening.
 
Jim:  Tell us about some of the ways that you have seen this program change lives and build families.
 
Eubank:  What can I say about being a participant in the creation of a family where none existed? My own small role in bringing someone’s dreams of having a family to love for the rest of their life into the realm of reality is like nothing else I have ever experienced. Many of my own friends have wanted to have families and I, myself, adopted a son 8 years ago.
The prospect of meeting a new life and welcoming it into your own forever is an experience that I could never describe adequately. I encourage interested people to explore our web site, GrowingGenerations.com, to gain a better perspective of the process and to get an idea of the reality of this experience.
 
Anyone with questions about becoming a donor can contact me or explore the information at any of our related sites:
 
GrowingGenerations.com
FertilityFutures.com

Kevin Eubank
Admissions Coordinator 
Growing Generations, LLC
Fertility Futures, LLC
Los Angeles * New York * Boston * Ohio Valley
Main (323) 965-7500  Fax (323) 297-5909
Direct (323) 904-4933
Email: kevine@growinggenerations.com
Websites: www.growinggenerations.com
                www.fertilityfutures.com
 
Lives Created  *  Worlds Changed
 

Interviewed by Jim Lawson and Terry Urban