IVF DADDIES

Richard Westoby & Julio Gaggia

The fertility industry will take $200,000 from you before anyone explains what you're actually doing. We fix that. IVF. Surrogacy. Egg donation. Real costs. Real timelines. What clinics don't tell you. What lawyers bury in contracts. What no one warns you about until it's too late. Richard Westoby navigated this for 14 years. Julio Gaggia decoded it so you don't have to start from zero. Start with Episode 1. Hit follow. Then make better decisions. No clinic deals. No referral fees. No false hope. The independent reference system for IVF, surrogacy and egg donation.

  1. 5 days ago

    102) FINANCING IVF OR YOUR MONEY BACK WITH SUNFISH CEO ANGELA RASTEGAR

    How much does IVF really cost, and what happens when treatment fails but the money is already gone? Before founding Sunfish, Angela Rastegar watched intended parents sell their 401(k)s and struggle to finance fertility treatment without knowing the final cost. Then she experienced it herself. Angela paid for four egg retrievals out of pocket. Two produced no healthy embryos. Eggs she had frozen years earlier eventually gave her another opportunity to continue building her family. In this episode, Angela joins Richard to explain how Sunfish is trying to make IVF, egg freezing and surrogacy more financially predictable. They discuss: • Hidden IVF and egg-freezing costs• IVF loans and monthly payment plans• Flat-fee fertility packages• Money-back protection when treatment is unsuccessful• Financing multiple IVF cycles• Financial planning for surrogacy• How Sunfish calculates personalised costs and possible outcomes• How fertility clinics and providers are vetted• Fertility data, privacy and security• The emotional cost of beginning again Angela explains how Sunfish uses historical, de-identified data alongside personal diagnostic information to estimate possible outcomes and build a financial package around each journey. The technology does not replace a fertility doctor or decide someone’s treatment. It is designed to help patients understand their options, possible costs and financial exposure before committing to treatment. This is not about making IVF cheap. It is about knowing the financial risk before using your savings, taking out a fertility loan or paying for another cycle. Fertility treatment will always carry medical uncertainty. The final bill should not be another surprise. CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Angela Rastegar02:10 Egg freezing and hidden fertility costs04:16 What is Sunfish?06:34 IVF financing and money-back protection09:10 How Sunfish vets fertility clinics11:08 Why fertility needs cost transparency13:24 Four retrievals and two devastating outcomes17:41 The frozen eggs that changed Angela’s journey19:37 Egg-freezing costs and second-cycle protection20:47 Predicting fertility outcomes and costs23:21 Financial planning before treatment24:31 Fertility data, privacy and security27:59 Angela’s advice before starting IVF Sunfish programmes, financing, refunds and financial protections depend on eligibility and individual programme terms. This conversation is educational and does not constitute medical or financial advice. Learn more about Sunfish:https://www.joinsunfish.com Support IVFDADDIES:https://ivfdaddies.com/shop #IVFFinancing #IVFCosts #FertilityFinancing #Sunfish #IVF Search topics: IVF financing, IVF costs, fertility loans, IVF payment plans, money-back IVF, flat-fee IVF, egg-freezing costs, surrogacy financing, fertility treatment costs, Sunfish fertility and Angela Rastegar.

  2. 9 Sept

    101) CAN SCIENTISTS MAKE A 42-YEAR-OLD EGG WORK LIKE IT’S 22?

    What if scientists could target one of the main reasons IVF becomes less successful with age? As eggs get older, the biological “glue” holding their chromosomes together begins to deteriorate. Chromosomes can separate incorrectly, leaving an egg with the wrong number. This can prevent an embryo from developing or reduce the chance of a successful pregnancy. Dr Jordan Abdi joins Richard to explain how U-Ploid Biotechnologies is attempting to intervene in this process and help older eggs behave more like younger ones. They explore: • Why egg quality declines with age• What happens to chromosomes during egg maturation• The “glue” responsible for keeping chromosomes together• Why some eggs and embryos have the wrong number of chromosomes• Whether a treatment could produce more chromosomally normal eggs• How this could reduce repeated IVF cycles• The risks, ethics and regulatory pathway• Why fertility innovation must be supported by peer-reviewed evidence The ambition is enormous: to reduce the age penalty in IVF and give patients more chances of producing chromosomally normal embryos from each cycle. But this is not an available fertility treatment or a guaranteed cure. U-Ploid’s work remains in development, with further studies, safety evidence and regulatory approval required before any potential patient use. ABOUT DR JORDAN ABDI Dr Jordan Abdi is a physician and Co-Founder and CEO of U-Ploid Biotechnologies. He holds a medical degree from Imperial College London and a Master of Global Affairs from Tsinghua University, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar. Before founding U-Ploid, Jordan held commercial leadership roles at PicnicHealth and Holmusk, working across pharmaceutical partnerships, behavioural health, mergers and strategic partnerships. CHAPTERS 00:00 Can scientists improve ageing eggs?01:45 Why infertility remains largely incurable02:48 Challenging what we accept about egg ageing03:43 How an egg prepares for fertilisation04:57 What is a polar body?06:01 Why chromosomes begin failing with age06:40 The biological “glue” holding eggs together08:43 Why scientists cannot simply repair an egg09:42 Supplementing the egg’s missing “glue”10:48 Making an older egg behave like a younger egg11:26 The safety questions that must be answered12:35 The pathway towards human clinical trials13:20 Research involving donated immature eggs15:00 Euploid eggs and the ethics of fertility research17:18 How dramatically egg error rates rise with age18:27 Could this change IVF success rates?19:31 Egg freezing, fertility hope and false guarantees21:02 Could better eggs mean fewer IVF cycles?22:03 Is egg biology simply too complex to treat?22:53 Jordan’s advice for patients24:02 Final thoughts FIND OUT MORE U-Ploid Biotechnologieshttps://www.u-ploid.com/ Explore the technologyhttps://www.u-ploid.com/technology Meet the U-Ploid teamhttps://www.u-ploid.com/about News and researchhttps://www.u-ploid.com/news-research SHOP IVFDADDIES Support the podcast and explore the IVFDADDIES collection:https://www.ivfdaddies.com/shop This episode is for education and discussion only. It does not provide medical advice. Speak with a qualified fertility professional before making decisions about fertility testing or treatment. #IVF #EggQuality #Fertility #FertilityScience #ReproductiveHealth #Embryology #Aneuploidy #EggFreezing #FertilityInnovation #IVFDADDIES

  3. 2 Sept

    100) What If Your Surrogate Changes Her Mind?

    It is the question every gay intended parent is afraid to ask: What happens if your surrogate changes her mind? At 20 weeks, one surrogacy journey became the nightmare nobody believed would happen. The contracts were signed. The difficult decisions had been discussed. Everyone appeared to agree—until they didn’t. In this episode, Richard and Julio move past the headlines and ask what same-sex couples actually need to know before trusting another person to carry their baby. Can a contract really protect you? What should be agreed before matching? What happens if your surrogate crosses state lines, refuses a medical decision or tries to claim parental rights? And if neither father is genetically related to the baby, are you still protected? Richard draws on his experience helping more than 4,000 people create families through surrogacy to explain what reduces the risk, what warning signs matter and which conversations cannot be avoided. Because when two fathers depend on a surrogate, an egg donor, an agency and several different legal systems, “it probably won’t happen” is not enough. You signed the contract. You trusted the agency. You believed everyone wanted the same thing. Then your surrogate changes her mind. For same-sex couples, this is not just a disagreement. Neither father gave birth. An egg donor may be involved. The surrogate may live in another state. The intended parents may live in another country. Suddenly, the family you spent years creating could depend on contracts, genetics and laws you thought had already protected you. In this episode: • Can your surrogate legally keep your baby?• Can a contract control what happens during pregnancy?• What if she refuses a previously agreed termination?• Could travelling to another state change your parental rights?• What happens when neither father is genetically related to the child?• How should gay couples choose and screen a surrogate?• Which conversations must happen before the match?• When should the agency intervene?• Who pays if the birth happens somewhere unexpected?• How common is this nightmare in real surrogacy journeys? CHAPTERS 00:00 What if your surrogate changes her mind?02:22 A contract cannot control someone’s body04:38 The diagnosis nobody could have predicted06:48 Every intended parent’s worst fear09:12 When outside organisations enter your journey11:26 What if neither father shares the baby’s genetics?13:50 Choosing the right surrogate16:04 Why the agency must protect the relationship18:29 Crossing state lines—and who pays the medical bills20:45 How one crisis can become a public campaign22:45 After 4,000 families, how likely is this? If you are planning surrogacy—or already matched—this is the conversation to hear before a crisis begins. Follow IVF Daddies on Spotify and send this episode to another intended parent. Shop IVFDADDIES https://www.ivfdaddies.com/shop Evidence behind this episode Sources: • AP, Live Action funded the travel:https://apnews.com/article/surrogate-baby-mckenna-west-texas-207b58c36b8f53dd0ab23e0dc2afaa3a • KERA, contract and court testimony:https://www.keranews.org/government/2026-08-26/mckenna-west-surrogacy-case-dallas-texas-alaska-california • Texas Tribune, court filings and case chronology:https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/12/texas-surrogacy-california-alaska-parental-rights/ • Live Action finances, approximately $15.7 million annual revenue:https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/421764425 • CDC information on hypoplastic left heart syndrome:https://www.cdc.gov/heart-defects/about/hypoplastic-left-heart-syndrome.html The proceedings were continuing when this episode was recorded. The discussion contains our interpretation of publicly reported events, not a final legal determination.

  4. 29 May

    99) FRESH VS FROZEN EMBRYOS: WHAT CLINICS NEVER ASK - IVFDADDIES

    Fresh or frozen? It sounds like a logistics question. It's not. Richard gets asked this constantly, and the answer almost always depends on something the clinic never asked first: what do you actually want your family to look like? In this episode Richard and Julio work through one of the most misunderstood decisions in an IVF or surrogacy journey. Why frozen embryos became the clinical default. What the attrition math actually looks like from egg to euploid embryo. Why egg freezing is not the insurance policy most people think it is. What a good clinic asks you before it tells you anything. And what it means when it doesn't. Richard has helped over 500 families navigate fertility journeys. For him it's statistics. For you it's binary. This episode is the gap between those two things, made legible. Not medical advice. Richard says that himself. CHAPTERS 00:00 Why this question came up this morning02:51 What actually happens when you freeze an egg05:49 Why frozen embryos became the default08:42 Two sperm sources, two kids: what the math looks like11:32 What egg banks are and how a "lot of eight" works14:24 The red flag your clinic might be showing you right now17:16 Why egg freezing is not a guarantee, even in your twenties20:10 You are binary. I'm a statistic. KEYWORDS IVF fresh vs frozen, donor eggs frozen embryos, egg freezing success rate, embryo banking explained, PGTA testing embryos, IVF surrogacy logistics, two dads IVF, LGBTQ family building, egg donor cycle, euploid embryo, vitrification IVF, IVF clinic red flags, intended parents guide, fresh donor egg cycle, frozen egg bank

  5. 22 May

    98) THE EMBRYO TEST RICHARD WISHES SOMEONE HAD EXPLAINED TO HIM FIRST - IVFDADDIES

    Before you sit down with your doctor and they start talking about genetic testing, there is a conversation that should happen first. Richard has it with hundreds of patients every year. This is that conversation. Richard Westoby works with intended parents every day before they see their doctor. Pre-implantation genetic testing is one of the first things that comes up and also one of the things people feel least prepared for when the appointment actually happens. In this episode Julio and Richard walk through what PGT actually is, the different types, what each one looks for, what it costs, and how to think about whether it makes sense for your journey. Including why Richard did not do it himself when he had his kids, why nothing is ever one hundred percent even after testing, and what the new generation of polygenic testing means for families making these decisions today. This is not medical advice. This is the conversation that helps you walk into the medical advice ready. IVF, PGT, pre-implantation genetic testing, embryo testing, surrogacy, gay dads, intended parents, egg donation, fertility, IVF costs, embryo screening, sex selection, genetic testing IVF, surrogacy journey, LGBTQ family, IVF explained, fertility podcast, gay parents, family building, IVF add-ons Chapters 00:00 Introduction to PGTs 02:27 Understanding PGT Types 05:37 The Role of PGT in IVF 09:05 Ethical Considerations of Gender Selection 11:42 Exploring PGT-M and PGT-SR 16:01 The Future of PGT: PGTP 22:54 The Emotional Impact of PGT Testing

  6. 13 May

    97)WHAT YOUR IVF CLINIC ACTUALLY NEEDS FROM YOU FIRST. FROM OVERSEAS TO DAD - IVFDADDIES

    SPOTIFY DESCRIPTION You've done the research. You've read the blogs. But there's a specific moment in the IVF journey that almost every gay man gets blindsided by and it's not the one you think. Dr. Michael Gornaccia of New England Fertility Institute has spent over 30 years helping LGBTQ families build through surrogacy, egg donation, and IVF. In this episode, he walks through the real timeline, the part of the process that costs the most time, what the 2am anxiety is actually about, and why one in-person visit to Connecticut might be the only thing standing between you and your embryos. If you're building your family from abroad, EU, UK, Asia, this one's for you. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction: who is Dr. G?01:03 The first thing your doctor needs to know before anything else03:18 HIV-positive fathers: the Beacon Institute process explained06:25 The male screening visit: what happens and why you cannot skip it09:29 Egg donation: clinic bank vs. private agency, real difference in timing13:01 When both partners want to use their genetics17:21 Second cycles: not uncommon, not the end20:25 The 2am anxiety moment everyone experiences and nobody warns you about22:18 What surprises patients most and why internet stats will gaslight you26:18 LGBTQ families vs. heterosexual couples: the grief nobody talks about30:06 HIV-positive dads: what to know if you are scared to ask31:04 Adoption as a valid path: patient autonomy in practice31:50 Final advice: the one thing to do when you are up at midnight New England Fertility Institute: https://www.nefertility.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nefertility/Men Having Babies: menhavingbabies.orgBeacon Institute (HIV sperm processing) "The biggest time factor in this whole journey isn't the medical process. It's finding a surrogate." Dr. Michael Gornaccia, New England Fertility Institute "A lot of LGBTQ patients tell me: I never thought when I was growing up that I'd be able to have a family. That grief is real, even when everything is going well." Dr. Michael Gornaccia, New England Fertility Institute "The two-and-a-half week wait while we test the embryos. That's when everyone panics. Every single patient. And it's completely normal." Dr. Michael Gornaccia, New England Fertility Institute "In IVF, women go through hormones and medication. Men go through paperwork and waiting." Julio, IVF Daddies

  7. 29 Apr

    96) "I WOULD NEVER BE A DAD IF IT WEREN'T FOR HIM" | CANDY CRASH - IVFDADDIES

    Candy Crash spent 25 years believing she was not allowed to want a family. Ten weeks ago, she became a dad. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Parenthood Journey 01:16 The Emotional Growth of Becoming a Parent 03:21 Experiences as an Au Pair and Changing Perspectives 05:02 Support Systems in Same-Sex Parenting 09:31 Balancing Organization and Creativity in Parenting 13:38 Trusting Professionals in the Surrogacy Process 16:34 The Role of the Surrogate and Building Relationships 20:34 Navigating the Surrogacy Process 23:19 Patience and Emotional Challenges in Surrogacy 25:44 Public Life and Private Struggles 28:20 Positivity in the Face of Adversity 30:46 Education Through Visibility and Love 32:57 Conclusion and Hope for Future Parents Candy Crash spent 25 years believing she was not allowed to want a family. Ten weeks ago, she became a dad. One of Germany's biggest drag queens, a graphic designer, a YouTuber, and now a parent through surrogacy in the US, Candy joins Julio and Richard for one of the most honest conversations this podcast has ever had about what the surrogacy journey actually feels like from the inside. Not the process. The feeling. The waiting. The grief of finding out one embryo took instead of two. The surrogate who was shy on the first call and offered to carry again before the baby was even born. The moment you realize the most important project of your life depends entirely on trusting people you have never met. Candy also talks about going public on social media as a queer parent, why she fights hate with education instead of anger, and the messages she gets from strangers who watched her journey and quietly changed their minds. If you have ever wondered whether a family like this is possible for someone like you, this episode is the answer. Guest: Candy Crash, drag queen, content creator, Hollywood Mom podcast host, and new dad.Instagram: @thecandycrashPodcast: Hollywood Mom on Spotify Keywords: surrogacy, gay dads, queer parenting, LGBTQ family, surrogacy journey, drag queen, intended parents, IVF, trust, visibility, queer family, same sex parents, surrogacy process, gay surrogacy, becoming a dad

  8. 22 Apr

    95) EGG DONATION & SURROGACY: WHAT NOBODY TELLS YOU BEFORE YOU SPEND $200,000 - IVFDADDIES

    Most people start this journey knowing the cost. Nobody warns them about everything else. Katy Encalade has been a surrogate herself. Now she runs one of the most respected egg donation and surrogacy agencies in the US. This conversation is the one most intended parents wish they had before they started. What you will actually hear in this episode: Why two years is the real timeline and why anyone who tells you less is setting you up to fail. Why an agency that says they have plenty of surrogates available should make you stop and ask harder questions. Why obsessing over genetics in your egg donor search might mean you are missing the question that actually determines your outcome. Why the match matters more than the speed. Every time. Why the families who struggle most are the ones who were told what they wanted to hear. This is not a hope conversation. This is a preparation conversation. If you are at the beginning of this journey or stuck somewhere in the middle, this episode gives you language for what you are actually going through. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:58 Understanding the Egg Donation Process 05:38 Navigating the Surrogacy Journey 08:33 The Importance of Patience 11:29 Matching with Egg Donors and Surrogates 14:15 Financial Aspects of Surrogacy 16:50 Red Flags and Green Flags in Agencies 19:21 Feeling Alone in the Journey 22:01 Simplifying the Process CONNECT WITH KATY ENCALADE Website: https://createahappyfamily.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createahappyfamily LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/katyencalade Listening in a browser? Open this in the Spotify app and hit follow. That is the only way Spotify tells you when new episodes land. No clinic deals. No referral fees. No false hope. IVF Daddies is the independent reference system for IVF, surrogacy and egg donation.

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About

The fertility industry will take $200,000 from you before anyone explains what you're actually doing. We fix that. IVF. Surrogacy. Egg donation. Real costs. Real timelines. What clinics don't tell you. What lawyers bury in contracts. What no one warns you about until it's too late. Richard Westoby navigated this for 14 years. Julio Gaggia decoded it so you don't have to start from zero. Start with Episode 1. Hit follow. Then make better decisions. No clinic deals. No referral fees. No false hope. The independent reference system for IVF, surrogacy and egg donation.

Information

  • Creator
    Richard Westoby & Julio Gaggia
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    97
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Richard Westoby & Julio Gaggia
  • Show Website
    IVF DADDIES

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