Family Fronds

Pineapple Family
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Family Fronds is the podcast for independent surrogacy and egg donation. We bring honest conversations to intended parents, surrogates, egg donors, and the professionals who support them all. Produced by Pineapple Family, the platform helping families navigate independent journeys without traditional agency fees, Family Fronds covers the real side of surrogacy and IVF: the costs, the decisions, the challenges, and the things no one tells you until you're already in it. Each episode, we welcome a new "frond of the family" to the table. Reproductive attorneys, fertility specialists, experienced surrogates, former donors, and the communities they create, speaking directly about what this process actually costs, how it actually works, and what it looks like from the inside. No gatekeeping. No sales pitch. Just conversations that make the journey possible. A Pineapple Family Original.

Episodes

  1. Trailer

    Trailer

    Family Fronds is the independent surrogacy podcast that tells the truth about independent surrogacy and egg donation journeys — what it costs, what it takes, and what the agency model doesn't want you to know. Real voices. Real experiences. From the people who have lived through it. A Pineapple Family Original.

    2 min

  2. May 20

    We Paid $45,000 to Learn the System Was Broken

    "We Paid $45,000 to Learn the System Was Broken" In 2019, Daniel Malak and Joshua Brost started the surrogacy process the way most people do: they hired an agency and trusted the system. Six years later, they have two kids, a failed match, a $45,000 lesson, and a family-building platform built on what they learned. This is the episode where they tell the full story — joined by their co-founder and gestational carrier, Sam Martin, who brings the other side of it. Sam carried her first journey through an agency, later discovered that agency owned its own law firm and ran its own escrow, and came out of the experience with a firm belief that gestational carriers deserve to be treated as partners, not inventory. Together, the three founders cover what the agency fee of $30,000–$60,000+ actually funds, how SEEDS governs (or doesn't) the surrogacy industry, private equity consolidation of three of the largest U.S. surrogacy agencies, and what going independent actually requires — including why it doesn't mean skipping the safety standards. In this episode: The failed transfer, the agency's response, and the decision to go independentWhat $30,000–$60,000 in surrogacy agency fees actually buysSEEDS, self-governance, and the enforcement problemPrivate equity ownership of three major U.S. surrogacy agenciesIn-house escrow and in-house legal: why they're a red flagThe ASRM psych screening standard agencies routinely skipWhat Sam wishes she'd known before her first agency journeyWhy an independent surrogacy and/or egg donation journey doesn't mean unsafe — it means choosing your own providers About the hosts: Daniel Malak and Joshua Brost are co-founders of Pineapple Family. Sam Martin is co-founder and served as gestational carrier for their two children. She holds a law degree and has completed multiple journeys — agency and independent. FTC disclosure: Sam Martin is a co-founder of Pineapple Family and has a financial relationship with the company. This episode is produced by Pineapple Family. If you're thinking about carrying: Start an application at pineapplefamily.org. Nobody assigns you to a family — you see the full profile and you choose. Not ready yet? Join The Grove, our free community for gestational carriers and egg donors, at pineapplefamily.org. Free always. This episode does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed reproductive attorney for guidance specific to your situation. This episode does not constitute medical advice. Consult a licensed medical professional for guidance specific to your situation. Family Fronds is a Pineapple Family original.

    22 min

Trailer

About

Family Fronds is the podcast for independent surrogacy and egg donation. We bring honest conversations to intended parents, surrogates, egg donors, and the professionals who support them all. Produced by Pineapple Family, the platform helping families navigate independent journeys without traditional agency fees, Family Fronds covers the real side of surrogacy and IVF: the costs, the decisions, the challenges, and the things no one tells you until you're already in it. Each episode, we welcome a new "frond of the family" to the table. Reproductive attorneys, fertility specialists, experienced surrogates, former donors, and the communities they create, speaking directly about what this process actually costs, how it actually works, and what it looks like from the inside. No gatekeeping. No sales pitch. Just conversations that make the journey possible. A Pineapple Family Original.

Information

  • Creator
    Pineapple Family
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Pineapple Family