Process terms help intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors understand who owns each step. A term can sound simple while hiding a clinic, legal, agency, financial, or personal decision. Use this glossary to ask better questions during intake, matching, treatment, and follow-up.
Intake: The first structured information-gathering step before formal screening or matching.
Screening: The review process used to decide whether a person or plan can move forward.
Match: A proposed relationship between intended parents and a surrogate or donor before all clearances are complete.
Medical clearance: The clinic's confirmation that a person or plan can proceed medically under its standards.
Legal clearance: The attorney-confirmed point when required agreements, consents, signatures, and timing requirements are complete.
Intake
The first structured information-gathering step. Intake may include basic eligibility, goals, medical history, schedule, location, budget, and role-specific preferences. Intake is not final approval.
Screening
The review process used to decide whether a person or plan can move forward. Screening can include agency review, medical history, infectious-disease testing, psychological consultation, genetic review, records collection, and clinic-specific requirements.
Match
A proposed relationship between intended parents and a surrogate or donor. A match may consider preferences, logistics, state law, clinic fit, communication style, compensation or reimbursement expectations, and timing. A match is not the same as medical or legal clearance.
Clinic review
The fertility clinic's review of medical records, testing, eligibility, protocol, and timing. The agency can coordinate records, but the clinic decides medical readiness.
Medical clearance
The point when the clinic confirms that a person or plan can proceed medically under its standards. Clearance can change if new records, test results, or symptoms appear.
Legal clearance
The point when attorneys confirm that required agreements, consents, signatures, and timing requirements are complete enough for the next step. Legal clearance is separate from medical clearance.
Escrow or trust account
A financial arrangement that can hold funds for compensation, reimbursements, or journey-related payments. Ask who administers it, what is funded, and when payments are released.
Medication calendar
The clinic's schedule for medications, monitoring, and timing. For donors, this may lead to retrieval. For surrogates, it may lead to embryo transfer. Follow clinic instructions, not informal summaries.
Embryo transfer
The procedure where an embryo is transferred into the uterus. SART describes third-party reproduction as a category that may include donors and gestational carriers. The clinic owns the transfer plan.
Egg retrieval
The procedure where eggs are retrieved after stimulation and monitoring. Donors should know recovery instructions, symptoms to report, and follow-up expectations.
OB handoff
The transition from fertility-clinic monitoring to obstetric pregnancy care. Ask when the handoff happens and who answers after-hours questions.
How to use this glossary
When someone uses a process term, ask what evidence proves the step is complete and who owns the next step. That habit prevents confusion between "we are matched," "the clinic cleared the plan," "the contract is signed," and "transfer can be scheduled."
Terms that are often confused
Match, medical clearance, legal clearance, and transfer scheduling are separate milestones. Application, eligibility, screening, and approval are also separate. If a conversation uses one term to mean all of them, slow down and ask for the exact status. Clear language prevents intended parents, surrogates, and donors from making plans based on a milestone that has not happened yet.
Next steps
This glossary is educational information only. Ask the agency, clinic, attorney, or other relevant professional how each term applies to your actual journey.