What is surrogacy? Kinds of surrogacy

Surrogacy is legal supported process when a healthy woman agrees to become pregnant via IVF and carry the baby not genetically related to her, but to intended parents (partially or fully). In this case such kind of surrogacy is called gestational, so this means that in this case the surrogacy mother can have no relation to a newborn as:
ü  the embryo is created using the sperm of intended father and the eggs of intended mother. This means the child will be fully related to both intended parents
ü  the embryo is created using the sperm of intended father and the eggs of the donor (due to medical reasons). But the surrogate can not be the egg donor in any case! In this case the child will be genetically related to the intended father.
ü  the embryo is created using the eggs of intended mother and donor sperm (due to medical reasons). In this case the child will be genetically related to the intended mother.
ü  the transfer of donor embryos to the surrogate mother is not possible in Ukraine! A child must have genetic relation to at least one of intended parent.

Traditional surrogacy using natural or artificial insemination is prohibited in Ukraine!

Stages of surrogacy process

Usual surrogacy process takes about a year. Surely, of the first embryo transfer fails, then the process could take longer.

1.     Preparation
The Intended Parents submit all the paper work, have their tests done , choose the surrogate and the egg donor if needed. Then it is possible to leave a sperm deposit at one of our partner clinics.

2.     Choosing of the egg/sperm donor
The Intended Parents choose the egg or sperm donor from our database regarding their requirements as for physical appearance, blood group, etc . All the donors have passed psychological, medical screening, including genetic testing.

3.     Surrogate matching
All the surrogate undergo psychological and medical screening to make sure they are healthy. We will try to match you with the best possible candidate due to your requirements and needs. There is no waiting list for matching with the surrogate. The Intended Parents may meet the candidates face to face or by means of Skype, What’ ap.


4.     Medical part
Some Intended Parents may use egg/sperm donor, while others will use their frozen embryos. In any case IVF involving fertilization of an egg by the sperm is used. In case of egg donor or using eggs of Intended Mother, the fertilization is done on the day of the egg collection by fresh or frozen sperm of Intended Father (donor sperm is always frozen). The embryo is developed to day 5 and is transferred to the surrogate mother. It is also possible to perform a Pre-Genetic Screening (PGS) test on the embryo in case the doctor recommends it. Once an embryo is ready,  it is graded by the embryologist and one or two highest quality embryos will be transferred to the surrogate on her and Intended Parents’ approval.

5. Prenatal checks
The surrogate shall undergo the standard pregnancy tests in accordance with the recommedations and protocols of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Intended Parents will be updated on the progress of the pregnancy.
6. Birth certificate:
Birth registration is done at the registry office. Both Intended Parents’ names are put in the birth certificate.
7. Legal process
The legal process of getting out of Ukraine will vary from country to country of Intended Parents. Therefore, the process of getting out of the country and back home can be different in each case.