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  • How does surrogacy work step by step?

    Woman by laptop thinking about the steps to surrogacy

    How does surrogacy work step by step?

    It’s important to understand what surrogacy is. Surrogacy is when a woman agrees to carry and give birth to someone else’s baby. How this works is that the surrogate, also known as a gestational carrier, becomes pregnant with the help of fertility treatments.  This means that the embryo actually belongs to the future parents, we call them “intended parents”.  Therefore, after birth the intended parents get to raise their baby.  So it’s kind of like extreme babysitting because the surrogate is giving the baby back to his or her parents. Now that we’ve covered this bit, let’s dive into how surrogacy works step by step.

     

    What is the first step for surrogacy?

    Surrogacy is a beautiful way to build or grow a family.  Especially if you’ve been waiting for your turn for a long time or have a history of fertility challenges, surrogacy may finally bring your baby home. 

     

    But there are a lot of steps and moving parts to make it work. While you may think that IVF is complex, surrogacy adds other layers that all have to work together.  It’s kind of like a handmade layered cake.  This is because you will need teammates like agencies, attorneys, psychologists, escrow managers, and social workers.  With all of these layers it can be tough to know where to start, or in other words, how to put this cake together.  We were certainly overwhelmed with everything we needed to learn for our own surrogacy journey especially since we were doing it without an agency.  

     

    Therefore let’s break down the 10 steps in the surrogacy process and make a simple outline of what happens in a journey from beginning to end. Certain steps can be done at the same time and sometimes in a different order.  In general, this is how surrogacy works step by step:

    Surrogacy works by taking one step at a time cards

    Step 1: Meet with your doctor and choose a fertility office 

    Your first step in the surrogacy process is to pick a fertility doctor, also known as an REI, and set up an appointment.  If you are already working with an REI, they may have already suggested that you use a gestational carrier.  But perhaps you will be the first one to bring it up.  Either way, it is an important conversation to have.  Next, you’ll want to ask your doctor some key questions about surrogacy since it’s different from a usual IVF experience.  It’s important to find out how surrogacy works at their office and if they even help with surrogacy since every office is different.  After meeting with you, your fertility doctor will outline the options for making embryos based on your medical history. 

    Step 2: Make and freeze embryos

    Now that you’ve met with your doctor and made a fertility plan, it’s time to make embryos.  Your fertility center will walk you through the process.  Depending on your situation you may need a sperm or an egg donor.  In fact, adopting embryos that were made by someone else is a possibility as well. Once your embryos are made they will be frozen until you are ready to use them in a later step.  It’s important to have embryos already made when you start looking for a surrogate. That’s because many are eager to get started right away and sometimes it can take longer than expected to make embryos. 

    To make surrogacy work you will need to select and screen a gestational carrier

    Step 3: Select, screen, and match with a surrogate

    This is where you select the women who will carry your pregnancy.  You can find a surrogate by signing up with a surrogacy agency or networking through your friends and family or even in online communities designed to match intended parents and surrogates. Next, your planned surrogate will have medical and psychological screenings as well as background checks to make sure she is a great candidate. 

    Step 4: Find attorneys and negotiate contracts

    Once you’ve matched with your surrogate and she has passed all the screening steps it’s time to make the relationship official.  In other words, it’s time to negotiate and sign contracts.  These contracts are sometimes called “surrogacy agreements”.  Importantly, the contracts spell out what everyone has agreed to in a legal way.  Usually 2 lawyers are used, one for the intended parents and one for the surrogate. Make sure to ask your lawyer the right questions about working with a surrogate so you can have a safe and legal journey.  As with most things, surrogacy laws vary from state to state.  It’s actually a good idea to speak with an attorney before even matching to find out how surrogacy works in a potential surrogates state. This is because some states are quite supportive of same-sex parents or using donor ege/sperm, while other states are challenging.

    Choosing a method to pay surrogate mother fees

    Step 5: Choose a method for payments 

    You will have to agree on the best way to send payments to your surrogate and this is because there will be items to pay for throughout the journey.  These will be reimbursement for expenses that she pays out of pocket, compensation for her efforts, and for any fees that you’ve agreed to during contracts.  In order to keep up with these payments, many people use an escrow company to handle sending money to their surrogate according to the contract.  Meanwhile other intended parents will choose to handle this on their own and mail checks or send with online services (such as Zelle or Paypal). 

     

    Step 6: Set up insurance policies

    Before your surrogate becomes pregnant it’s a good idea to set up insurance.  This includes medical insurance to cover her prenatal care and delivery.  You may also decide to have short term disability and a life insurance policy.  While we don’t like to think about things going wrong during a surrogate pregnancy, it’s best to have these backups in place.

    Baby on board sticker after embryo transfer to surrogate

    Step 7: Transfer embryo to your surrogate

    Once everything is in place with screenings, contracts, insurance, and payment method, it’s time to get down to baby making.  Now your fertility doctor will outline a protocol, basically a schedule of medications, that your surrogate will be taking.  Protocols vary from doctor to doctor and each person’s needs.  When the time is right they will place your little frozen embryo into your surrogate – the embryo transfer!

     

    Step 8: Check for pregnancy and graduate

    Around 10-14 days after the embryo transfer fertility doctors will finally check for pregnancy with a blood test.  This is known as the nail biting two week wait to find out if the embryo transfer took. If it doesn’t work out, you will regroup with your surrogate and circle back with the fertility doctor to figure out next steps.  If it does work out, near the end of the first trimester your surrogate will graduate from the fertility office and move on to her OBGYN.

    Your lawyer will know how surrogacy works legally in the state

    Step 9: File for legal parentage

    This is one of the most important steps in surrogacy because you want to be recognized as the legal parent of your little baby.  Therefore, it’s time to circle back with your attorney to file the needed paperwork, amend birth certificates, attend hearings or whatever else is needed based on your state and situation.  Your state, for example, will dictate if this step is to be done before embryo transfer, before birth, or after birth.  Your attorney will know the local laws and guide you, so in short, it’s time to contact your attorney.

    Step 10: Enjoy pregnancy and delivery

    Your surrogate will be cared for by her OBGYN or midwife during pregnancy.  If your surrogate isn’t local you your next steps will also include planning and traveling to her hometown for delivery.  Whether or not you have to travel, you can make a birth plan with your surrogate for how you would like things during and after delivery. Stay flexible because labor and delivery can be unpredictable and babies have their own plans. After the big birth party you get to travel home with your new bundle of joy!

    Smiling baby from the last surrogacy step

    How long does the surrogacy process take?

    Now that we’ve seen step by step how surrogacy works there’s probably another question in your mind.  You can probably picture yourself holding your new baby in your arms and rocking her gently as she coos.  This is the goal of a surrogacy journey and why you are going to trudge through the 10 steps of the surrogacy process.  So how long will it take? Surprisingly it takes a while, at least 14-18 months to go through all the steps.  And this is if everything goes according to plan and works out on the first try.  This means that the surrogate you match with in the first place passes screening with flying colors.  Not only that, but your first embryo transfer works and becomes your baby.  

     

    But there are things that can really stretch your timeline, like if it takes a long time to find a good surrogate match, or if you need to screen a second potential gestational carrier, or if you have to do a second or third embryo transfer.  You may have to work through step by step of the surrogacy process again. Therefore it’s important to be patient and accept that surrogacy is a marathon, not a sprint.  

    How surrogacy works and how long each step will take

    How surrogacy works – timeline

    Step 1: Meet with your doctor and choose a fertility office

    Step 2: Make and freeze embryos – 3 months

    Step 3: Select, screen, and match with a surrogate – 3+ months

    Step 4-6: Complete contracts, find insurance and choose payment method – 1 month

    Step 7: Transfer embryo to your surrogate – 1 month

    Step 8: Check for pregnancy and graduate to OB – 2 months

    Step 9: File for legal parentage – 0 months (happens during or shortly after pregnancy)

    Step 10: Enjoy pregnancy and delivery – 7 months

     

    We’ve broken down how surrogacy works step by step.  Each of these steps also has finer details and other items to complete.  Overall this list gives a great overview of what a surrogacy journey looks like from beginning to end.  Are you looking to dive deeper into a surrogacy journey and you want tools to really get started on your journey?  Sign up for the Surrogacy 101 Course.  It’s free and will break down the steps, building, a team, the cost, and so much more.  See you there!

    about

    Alyssa is a practicing OBGYN whose personal journey of family building has given her a greater understanding of loss, love, and living.

    Points to Ponder

    “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”

    — Germany Kent
  • Clear the confusion: The 10 key surrogacy questions to ask your doctor

    Your fertility specialist (reproductive endocrinologist and infertility, REI) and office are generally where your journey will be starting.   It’s easy to think about using a surrogate as being like a usual IVF cycle, but with the embryo being transferred into your gestational carrier instead.  When it comes to third party reproduction, though, there are a lot of added steps.  This is where your REI will play a leading role. Your REI is pivotal in organizing genetic and infectious disease screening, offering guidance on the need for donor egg or sperm, creating your embryos, approving of your gestational carrier, reviewing your legal contract and much more prior to the long awaited embryo transfer to your gestational carrier.  

    It’s important to know that not every fertility office has a surrogacy program.  If you’re already receiving care, your doctor may have to refer you to another center. Our first fertility office was small and didn’t do surrogacy cycles. Our second center had one specific REI that would care for all surrogacy situations. So this means starting fresh with a new provider. For someone that is taking such an important role, you will want to feel confident and comfortable with them. Here are some questions you should consider asking when you consult with your fertility specialist about your surrogacy journey.

    Woman taking notes

    Do you recommend that we have genetic screening or testing on us or our embryos?

    Based on your age, medical history, family history and circumstances, genetic screening or other testing may be recommended.  There are some benefits, risks, and even controversies in this area and your fertility specialist should be the one to guide you.

    How do you define success and what are our chances? 

    Some fertility statistics are built on “pregnancy” as the key result.  What was most important to us was knowing our chances of a healthy baby.  Consider asking what your chances of success are with our own genetics? Or how many egg retrievals will you need for X number of babies?

    What will the medication protocols look like and what does each medicine do?

    Education is critical as you go through this process. It is good to know the medications that will be used and what they are supposed to do. 

    three notebooks

    What are the extra steps or screenings for our IVF cycle knowing that the embryos will be transferred into a gestational carrier?

    Your fertility specialist should guide you on any specialised infectious testing, additional lab work, psychological evaluations, and physical exams that may be needed. 

    What are the clinic’s requirements and criteria for gestational carriers?

    Your fertility clinic will have set criteria for age, BMI, number of prior pregnancies etc and will need to approve of her health history. You don’t want to match with a surrogate only to find out that she wont be accepted by your doctor.

    Who will be our contact person during the process?

    It should be clear to you who your point person will be and the best way to get a hold of them.  This could be your REI themselves, but usually an IVF nurse or third party coordinator.

    What is the clinic’s process?

    The details of the process do vary from office to office. For example, will there be a medicated mock embryo transfer? Are there certain services that must be completed in-house such as the psychological evaluation? Do they only work with particular surrogacy agencies?

    Doctor sitting at desk

    How will results and instructions be communicated? 

    Knowing how and when communications are expected will make your experience smoother. Will they go to you, your gestational carrier or both? Will they be on the web portal or will there be a phone call?

    What will increase chances of success in the first transfer?

    Not much of an explanation needed here, but it is important to know how hopeful to be after transfer.  It will also allow you to plan your budget and heart around multiple transfers if needed.

    How much does each item cost? 

    Get a breakdown of all costs related to IVF, including mock cycles, gestational carrier screening, and any surcharges for using a gestational carrier. Charges for donor and gestational carrier cycles can be surprising so you will want to be prepared. 


    Hopefully this is a great conversation starting point when discussing surrogacy with your REI specialist.  These questions should help you feel informed and increase your understanding of the process.

    about

    Alyssa is a practicing OBGYN whose personal journey of family building has given her a greater understanding of loss, love, and living.

    Points to Ponder

    “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”

    — Germany Kent
  • How to ask your attorney the right questions about surrogacy

    You know that saying “it takes a village to raise a child”?  When we’re talking about surrogacy it actually takes a village just to bring your child into the world. You will need a team of people working with you to make your dream come through.  A core group is necessary for every gestational surrogacy arrangement. This would be your fertility specialist, your surrogate, a psychologist, an OBGYN or midwife and your attorney. 

    Why do you need an attorney? Every state is different and has different laws and rules surrounding surrogacy.  An attorney is the knowledgeable person who understands these laws and how to work within them.  They will write your contract, also known as a gestational surrogacy agreement, and work in your best interest.  Your surrogate will have her own attorney working in her best interest as well.  The attorney you work with will actually be responsible for preparing and filing the legal parentage documents. This is the paperwork that confirms you are the legal parent of your child. These are some of the most important steps in a surrogacy journey and you want to have a great attorney as part of your team.  

    You will want to speak with at least 2 or 3 attorneys to get an understanding of the process within the state your surrogate will deliver.  You will also want to learn what it will be like to work with them.  Here are some questions you should consider when consulting with attorneys about surrogacy

    question marks

    What is your experience with surrogacy arrangements?

    Surrogacy is unique and complicated.  Your attorney should have ample experience in this area of law.  They should be knowledgeable about the state laws, legal parentage process, and how to work with your fertility practice, obgyn, and hospital.

    What else will your attorney assist with?

    Some attorneys will be able to perform a background and criminal records check on your prospective gestational carrier.  Some may offer to review a gestational carrier’s health insurance to see if it can be used. Finding out if her insurance can be used (AKA “surrogacy-friendly”) is an important step.  Not all attorneys offer these other services and they may or may not come at an extra cost. 

    How do you handle disputes over the terms of the contract?

    If you reach a wrinkle with your GC and disagree with terms of the contract or need help enforcing a clause, your attorney should be able to help you.  Asking this question will help you to get a feel for how your attorney handles these issues throughout a journey. 

    Handshake

    How have you been able to resolve issues at the vital records/court ordered parentage level or with hospital admin in protecting IPs?

    Sometimes surrogacy journeys face some bumps in the road.  Having someone who will work for your best interest and who is both knowledgeable about the law is very helpful if you hit a road bump.

     What are the costs and payment structure for contract drafting?

    You may be charged a set fee for contract drafting and negotiation or an hourly rate.  If your attorney charges hourly, ask what about the usual price range or number of hours needed. Either way you may be charged an initial retainer. 

    What are the additional costs of a pre- or post- birth order (legal parentage)?

    Apart from the gestational carrier agreement, an attorney will also help with the legal process to grant you parental rights for your baby.  Depending on your state, you may encounter things like the need for 2 attorneys or in-person court appearances.  You may be billed for this later in pregnancy or after delivery so it’s another item to budget.  

    How long will it take to complete contracts?

    There’s a lot of hurry up and wait with surrogacy.  Legal contracts are generally the last step prior to your gestational carrier starting medication for embryo transfer.  How exciting! So yes, who long will this process take?

    Two black women speaking on couch

    What are important clauses and fees that we should discuss with a potential surrogate ahead of time?

    You likely covered key fees and contract terms when you were matching with your GC.  Ask your attorney about additional ones that you should think about and discuss with your GC.  The beauty of doing this before the initial contract draft is that you and your GC can come to an agreement. The more you agree on, the less back and forth, which can increase costs, frustration, and time to embryo transfer. 

     Do you have any specific insights about the laws of this state regarding surrogacy and how they would apply to our situation?

    Surrogacy laws are governed by individual states. Are you able to compensate your GC or receive only reimbursement of living expenses or will she have to be altruistic? Do you need to complete a home study and adoption fitness standards? Can you have a legal parentage order if you’re an unmarried couple or gay dads or not genetically related to the embryo? There is a lot that your attorney should be able to unpack for you. 

     What is the legal parentage process? Will we be able to have our names on our baby’s birth certificate?

    The process varies by state, jurisdiction, and individual circumstances like biological connection, use of donor embryos, same-sex parents.  Your attorney will advise on if this is a process completed before or after birth and whether additional steps of court appearances or adoption will be necessary for you.  

    As you can see from these questions, your attorney is going to be a great resource for your surrogacy journey.  Having a great attorney will save you a lot of frustrations and anxiety.  Surrogacy can already be an emotional rollercoaster without legal issues.  Let these questions be your jumping off point as you consult with attorneys and finally pick the right person to work with.

    about

    Alyssa is a practicing OBGYN whose personal journey of family building has given her a greater understanding of loss, love, and living.

    Points to Ponder

    “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”

    — Germany Kent
  • The Best 8 Surrogacy Grants You Should Apply For Now

    Surrogacy can be expensive. Thankfully there is financial assistance.

    The financial burden of gestational surrogacy can make it out of reach for many interested in growing their families this way.  There are several grants and financial assistance programs that can help with paying for general fertility services.  These can be used to help with IVF and embryo creation, however not all extend to the other needs we have in the gestational surrogacy process.  Here is a list of programs that can help specifically with the gestational surrogacy costs or accept male couples or single parents.

    Cade Foundation
    The Cade Foundation was founded by Drs. Jason and Camille Hammond who named the foundation after their mother who was their gestational carrier. She carried her grand-triplets and delivered at age 55!  This non-profit provides grants up to $10,000 per family with recipients selected twice yearly.  Recipients need to have documented infertility, so this wouldn’t be useful for people seeking surrogacy for other reasons. 

    Men Having Babies
    Men Having Babies is a non-profit organization supporting gay male family building through education, advocacy, and resources. The Gay Parenting Assistance Program includes discounted and free services through over a hundred IVF, surrogacy, egg donation, pharmacy, escrow and legal service providers. The program also provides cash grants annually totaling over $1 million. 

    Baby Quest
    BabyQuest Foundation is a non-profit that provides grants that can be used to offset the cost of IVF, gestational surrogacy, egg donation etc in the US.  BabyQuest supports recipients who are same-sex and singles as well.  While people with children can apply, they state that the process strongly favors first time parents. So far they have donated millions of dollars in grants and touched hundreds of lives.  Grants are awarded twice yearly – in the spring and fall. You do not have to fundraise as part of this program. 

    Coalition for Family Building
    This Coalition provides both financial assistance grants and IVF cycle grants.  Their large variety of grants can be used for adoption, IVF, third party reproduction, cryopreservation, vasectomy reversal etc.  They have funding for specific needs such as emergency IVF for people with cancer diagnosis and offer egg freezing for women with endometriosis or other medical conditions that threaten fertility. There are location restrictions for these grants, generally Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin or Iowa.

    Deborah Frank Memorial Grant needs to be highlighted.  It offers $100,000 for all services related to gestational surrogacy!

    Family Formation Charitable Trust
    The Family Foundation Charitable Trust is a non-profit created by The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. Grants range from $500 to $2000 and are awarded twice yearly.  Grants support “all types of assisted reproduction services” including gestational and traditional surrogacy, as well as sperm/egg/embryo donation.  In addition to usual expenses at fertility clinics, grants can also be applied to legal fees, agency fees, medication costs not covered by insurance. They also do not give preference to certain marital statuses or sexual orientation. 

    Gift of Parenthood
    The Gift of Parenthood was founded in 2019 by Teresa Barbosa, inspired by her own 12 year fertility journey. This non-profit offers financial support and education for couples and individuals receiving fertility treatment.  Single applicants and LGBT are also eligible to apply.  Awards can be used for a variety of needs including IUI, IVF, sperm and egg donation, egg freezing and surrogacy.  Awarded 4 times a year, grants range from $1000 to $15,000. 

    Journey To Parenthood
    Journey To Parenthood was founded by Jennifer Conley (a mother through gestational surrogacy) and Colleen Brierley (A child and family law attorney and a mother of 5 including 3 through adoption).  Grants are for up to $10,000 and are dispersed annually.  Assisted reproduction treatments like surrogacy, and egg donation in addition to IVF are eligible.

    Nest Egg Foundation
    Nest Egg Foundation is a Connecticut based non-profit providing financial assistance grants for services at specific local fertility centers. Grants are for services related to IVF only, but this includes cryopreservation, embryo testing, cycle medication, egg or embryo donation and surrogacy.  This program is for first time parents.  Applicants need to have an infertility diagnosis unless applying as an individual or a same sex couple. Awards are up to $10,000. 


    Surrogacy is expensive, so having a good budget estimate and plan in place will make it more manageable. If you’re looking for financial assistance with your surrogacy journey, check out these organizations to see if you are eligible to apply.

    Eight best grants for surrogacy
    Amazing surrogacy grants for same sex couples
    Get $100,000 to help pay for surrogacy
    about

    Alyssa is a practicing OBGYN whose personal journey of family building has given her a greater understanding of loss, love, and living.

    Points to Ponder

    “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”

    — Germany Kent
  • How to check health insurance for surrogate friendliness

    Sometimes it seems like insurance is purposely confusing, doesn’t it?  In the US medical bills are a big contributor to debt and financial struggles.  Evaluating insurance for suitability for surrogacy is essential! There are insurance professionals who can help with sifting through this information and finding a policy.  In my personal experience, however, having a little knowledge can save you a lot.  

    When we hired an insurance specialist through a notable company, the agent told us there wasn’t a suitable ACA marketplace plan for our gestational carrier.  But prior to speaking with them I did my own research and identified a plan that did not appear to have any exclusions or liens.  When I brought it up, the agent confirmed that we could use it, and they had overlooked that policy.  Wow! My simple research saved us an incredible amount of money as we would have had to pay medical expenses out of pocket, negotiate an insurance lien or buy an expensive $25,000+ private plan.  

    Here are the steps you can take to make yourself more knowledge about insurance policies:

     

    Talk to your insurance carrier

    • The gestational carrier is going to have to contact their own insurance provider
    • As as a surrogate, make sure they understand that you want to know if your insurance covers your prenatal and maternity care while you are pregnant as a gestational carrier. (Not that you are looking for them to cover someone else through infertility benefits)
    • You may be asked to provide diagnosis and procedure codes for the customer service agent to look up. Some helpful ones to offer are:

    Z33.3 – diagnosis code (ICD10) for a gestational carrier who is pregnant

    59400 – procedure code (CPT) for vaginal delivery

    59510 – procedure code (CPT) for cesarean delivery

     

    Get it in writing and keep a record

    • This will be the paper trail and provide a record to support your cause should you need to.  You should also keep a log of who you spoke with, their position, the date and the time.  Ask for a reference number for the interaction. 
    • You can use the online portal, email, or messenger application for correspondence. 
    • You can request that documentation, pre-authorizations and other information be mailed or emailed to you.  Keep it in a safe place until well after your surrogacy journey.
     

    Get the plan Policy Booklet

    • It goes by various names depending on the insurance carrier. It could be called the “Evidence of Coverage”, “Benefit Booklet”, “Summary of Benefits of Coverage”, “Policy Manual” etc.
    • This is generally 75-300 pages and very detailed about what conditions and treatments are and are not covered by the insurance plan.  You want to search for anything that points to an exclusion or limitation. 
    • Search the booklet for key words such as “surrogate”, “surrogacy”, “gestational carrier” or “host uterus”. 
    • Pay special attention to the sections regarding maternity coverage and exclusions.
    • If surrogacy is clearly excluded then you can probably forego a professional review as you need to obtain a new policy. If the language concerning surrogacy is vague or confusing, or if surrogacy is not mentioned, then consider a professional review. 
     

    Speak with a professional

    • There are experienced surrogacy lawyers, insurance brokers and specialists who can help with this.  They can look at the insurance plan documents, call the health plan and help to decipher whether or not this is a good insurance plan for surrogacy (surrogacy-friendly).
    • In the event that you do not have surrogacy friendly insurance, professionals can also walk you through the process of finding a policy. They can help with structuring dual coverage from insurance, decipher liens, and even negotiate lower payments with insurance providers. 

    Hopefully this helps you to determine if an existing policy is surrogacy friendly.  At the very least you’ve been able to educate yourself more about the insurance policy and collect the Policy Booklet.  When you’re ready to speak with an insurance professional they will need this same Policy Booklet, so you will be ahead of the game.  If it is clear that you won’t be able to use this insurance, I’m sorry.  Let’s take this opportunity to go over how to find a potential plan through the ACA (Affordable Care Act) Marketplace.

    about

    Alyssa is a practicing OBGYN whose personal journey of family building has given her a greater understanding of loss, love, and living.

    Points to Ponder

    “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”

    — Germany Kent

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