[AdptnAChld]

OK so here goes with the start of many questions.

Our agency has said that the Russian process now involves a "Blind Referral". Has anyone had any experience with this? How blind is blind?

We are requesting a Boy up to 30 months old.

[kazmumtobe]

a blind referral is common - it involves no picture or video and a very brief description - male, age 24 mos, and might list some of the medical issues - maybe not. You really have to be armed with your IA doctor ready to receive your pictures/medical info via fax or email once you are over in Russia - you have to get it all to the dr and enough time that they can say yea or nay before you leave (1st trips are usually 3-4 days).

It is a leap of faith that is for sure - but lots of people have travelled blind and brought home the loves of their lives.

I thought the accredited agencies were able to get pics and medicals now...maybe not...

Good luck

[momraine]

I traveled totally blind. All I knew was I was getting a kid under age four. I was sent a list (in Russian directly from the dept. of education) of nine children to choose from, each had a gender, birthday and one sentance diagnosis (all special needs) and I went and was asked which I wanted to see first. I saw three the first day and chose from those three. It was hard, especially since when I went to see them I had slept two hours in three days and I traveled alone, dh joined me for court. Of course this was seven years ago! I did a lot of research first and felt ready to do this.

[k8c]

My agency says that all referrals from Russia will soon be blind. (fwiw)

A blind referral will be one that meets the criteria that you submitted re: age, gender, health. Sometimes you will receive additional information about medical issues or a photo.

Personally, I think travelling blind is a good idea. I know how quickly I fall in love. ;> To have a picture of a child and fall in love with her only to find that I had to decline that referral...It would be heartbreaking. I think that travelling blind allows you to be a little more objective. And, if you do have to decline a referral, you would be offered another while you were there.

(Can you tell having to decline a referral is my biggest concern? ;> )

Hope this helps!
Kate

[crispex]

My first referral (in 2005) was not blind. We got a video and a few photos as well as a decent medical history of our little girl. IA doc was a bit concerned about a possible issue, but we knew specialists in the field and they weren't concerned at all.

Anyway, we fell in love with this little girl and after a few months one of her aunts decided she wanted guardianship which was granted...we were heartbroken and not even sure if we wanted to go on.

In less than one month we got another referral, this one mostly blind. We were given a brief medical history and a photo (which was over 2 years old and only a close-up of her face). This kept us more impartial. When I met her for the first time I fell in love with her and now I cannot imagine not having her as my daughter. She has been home now nearly 1 year (I can't believe it has been that long) and I'm very glad things happened the way they did.

Blind referrals aren't a bad thing, but you do have to be careful. Keep the IA doctor on call so you can get their professional opinion on a moment's notice.

GOOD LUCK!

[Waiting2Be]

Our dd was a blind referral, the only information we recieved before traveling was that it was a girl and the month and year of her birth, that was it. We traveled to meet her 5 days later, ahead of time we contacted our IA doctor told him that we were headed to Russia and that we would meet our baby on this date and that we would contact him later that day to discuss her medicals. And we did and even though he said not to accept her we did and she is a perfectly healthy, happy, smart little girl, and because we had met her in person, we knew for ourselves that she was just that - perfect! So for us meeting her made the difference, if we had just seen a picture and listened to the doctor we wouldn't have our dd today and I can not imagine life without her.

[kcgirlinfl]

We had a blind referral in the Moscow region. The only thing we knew before we traveled was that he was a boy, and his date of birth. When we met with the MOE to officially recieve our referral, we got a fuzzy picture and some very brief medical information. It worked out well for us. Our son has been home just over 2 years, and is a happy healthy little boy.

Good luck to you!

[nungesser]

Our referral was blind too. Now he is noisy, defiant, messy, and cute. I would travel on a blind referral again.

[MamaChinch]

Yes, keep your IA on call and get as much info as you can to him/her. I had NO info before trip 1. My request was for an infat girl under 18 mos. I went to Kemerovo not knowing if she was 8 mos or 18 mos, no name, no age, no medical. She was so beautiful and healthy, that my IA doc do not believe it! I know how lucky I am! I would travel blind again, but I did lecture myself plenty before I left about being strong enough to turn the referral down if I had to.
Ramsell Family Happenings

[GCS]

I think that agencies often define blind differently, so you need to ask your agency how blind is blind.

We had lots and lots of info on DD and little to no info on DS. We did have a birthday and 4 pictures but there was no medical or measurements. We gave what little we had on him to our IA doctor and traveled with specific questions based on his age/developmental stage. We probably ended up with much more information traveling this way. We contacted our IA doctor and went over our findings with her but we knew at our first meeting we would be taking this very smart sweet boy home with us as soon as we could!

I would absolutely travel blind!