Surrogacy in Ukraine, legal aspects
Infertility treatment by using the services of a surrogate mother is now widely applied in countries where surrogacy is allowed. Nowadays, numerous countries have fully or partially forbidden it. Due to the presence of such restrictions, Ukraine has become one of the most frequent destinations for surrogacy for couples who want to extend their families. However, this isn’t the only reason why people choose Ukraine: the affordable price for surrogacy packages together with the excellent quality and high success rates make this country a lucrative location.
The most widespread reasons that are considered legal in Ukraine are the absence of a uterus or four and more failed IVF attempts with transfers of good quality embryos. Other reasons include deformations of the uterus or other diseases which become an obstacle for successful pregnancy and delivery. Male infertility isn’t considered to be a valid reason to start surrogacy.
Another essential condition is the official marriage. Only heterosexual and married couples are allowed to become intended parents in Ukraine, otherwise, it would be deemed illegal. One more crucial requirement is connected with an embryo to be transferred. Even though both egg and sperm donation is legal in Ukraine, this won’t be the case with surrogacy. If donor’s material is needed, it can be used either from the intended father’s or mother’s side. Therefore, the embryo has to be genetically linked to one or more intended parent.
When it comes to surrogates, they should also comply with the conditions, set by Ukrainian law. Each of them shall be a biological mother of a healthy baby and have easy pregnancy and delivery. Their health state is checked at the clinic where they decide to stay and if any disease that may put the pregnancy at risk is detected, such woman won’t be accepted. There is no limit set as for their age from the legal point of view, but agencies tend to recruit women who are 20-35 years old.
Traditional surrogacy, where a surrogate gives her eggs for fertilization, is not legal in Ukraine. For this reason, the surrogate’s biological material cannot be used in IVF and she can only become a carrier. Her marital status is of no importance, either married and single/divorced women are accepted. In case she is officially married, her husband has to give consent in the written form and confirm he has no objections. If the woman has a partner (and they aren’t married), agencies tend to check if he is aware of such a decision and make sure she is together with supportive person.
In addition, a surrogate must lead a healthy lifestyle and be a reliable woman who understands the responsibility and is ready to follow the doctor’s recommendation. She needs to have an urge to help another couple and to be ready to devote this part of life to a very special pregnancy.