Tag Archives: surrogacy destinations

Surrogacy in Russia

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Surrogacy in Russia was first practiced in 1995 and has become a popular destination for foreign patients gradually. A lot of surrogacy agencies and clinics are operating successfully and are promising to deliver the best results. However there have been several doubts about choosing Russia as a surrogacy destination. By going through the surrogacy legislation and regulations in Russia, we will discuss all of the important issues to be aware of.

 

Legislation

Surrogacy is legal and is regulated by the Family Code of Russia. According to the law, commissioning parents are not required to be married and single parents are also allowed to participate in programs. Foreigners are welcome.

Intended parents have to provide a medical assessment that proves their inability to become parents without assistance. This could include :

  • Uterus absence or deformation
  • Somatic diseases that do not allow / are dangerous for pregnancy
  • History of several IVF failures

 

Surrogate Mother

Surrogate mother is required to have at least one healthy child of her own. Her medical and mental state must be checked and observed carefully before admitting her to the program. Surrogate mother can not be an egg donor at the same time. However, despite the absence of genetic connection with the child, surrogate mothers still have full parental rights for babies. Gestational mother gives parenthood rights to commissioning parents only with her consent.

 

Commercial surrogacy plays a major role in solving the problem. Fortunately it is legal in Russia to pay a surrogate mother for the service of carrying pregnancy(similar to Ukraine, Georgia and some states of the USA). A lot of gestational mothers see surrogacy as an opportunity to live better lives with their families. Surrogacy agencies and clinics are also promising to handle all of the legal aspects themselves. However, it is still strongly advised to work with the family law agency throughout the surrogacy period.

 

Service and Costs

Surrogacy programs are offered in several Russian cities. Of  course, the most popular destination is the capital city – Moscow. Apart from being a popular tourist destination with picturesque views and great history, Moscow offers a number of medical centers with modern equipment. Surrogacy agencies have years of experience and are indeed reliable companions on the journey to parenthood. Average cost of IVF, medical care and legal support is on average 40-50 000 $. This price is considered to be affordable for surrogacy and is somewhat higher than the average cost in Ukraine, Georgia and Kenya, but still half of the price in the USA.

 

Surrogacy in Russia has no doubt a lot of advantages to go for – affordable prices, experienced agencies and clinics, well equipped medical centers. However, intended parents should note that there have been several cases when surrogate mothers refused to give up their parenthood rights. We would strongly encourage intended parents to use service of a lawyer throughout the entire process of surrogacy. Lawyer will negotiate with the gestational carrier from the very beginning and prepare all of the documents for abnegation of parenthood rights. If something goes wrong, family lawyer will also represent intended parents in court.

 

Surrogacy in Ukraine

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Ukraine is considered as one of the most popular surrogacy destinations for heterosexual couples. We are going to introduce some of the interesting details and then try to decide, whether Ukraine is a suitable choice to consider.

 

Ukraine is one of those very few countries in Europe that are accepting surrogacy. The capital Kiev is a safe, active, developed and a beautiful city. The development of the country matters in our case, because it is connected with the quality of medical service as well. No worries, in Kiev there are several professional surrogacy agencies and a number of clinics with high quality service and equipment. There are medical centers in other cities as well (Odessa, Lviv, Kharkov and so on). Success rate of IVF is as high as up to 60%. Doctors are professional and caring. Pricing whatsoever is relatively affordable (up to 50% lower) in comparison with USA and Canada.

 

Surrogacy in Ukraine is legal, which obviously means that it is regulated by the law. Regulations are indeed advantageous for intended parents for the following reasons :

 

  • No need of adoption

Ukrainian law allows to issue birth certificates with intended parents’ names. No matter what the real biological tree looks like, baby’s documents will only have the names of IP(s) in them.

 

  • No disputes

Thanks to regulations, there has not been recorded even a single dispute about the custody over the child. Actually, it is not allowed for surrogate mother to be an egg donor at the same time. No genetic connection of a surrogate with a child, contributes to the absence of conflicts as well.

 

  • Families don’t experience delayed stays 

No complications with documents + no dispute about parental rights = no delayed stay in a foreign country.

 

Requirements for intended parents (IPs)

 

In order to participate in a surrogacy program in Ukraine, IPs have to be married. Additionally a  couple has to provide surrogacy agency and clinic with medical reports. They should prove that the couple’s decision to proceed with the program is reasonable. Conclusion should be the following – intended mother is not able to bear a baby herself, without a surrogate mother. Reasons may include :

 

  • Absence of womb
  • Deformation of uterus that makes pregnancy and delivery impossible
  • Diseases that do not allow to bear a child, because it may become fatal for mother
  • At least 4 unsuccessful IVF attempts with embryos of high quality

 

Surrogate mothers’ age should be between 20-40 years. They are required to have at least one child previously.  

To sum up, let’s list pros and cons of Ukraine as a surrogacy destination.

 

Advantages

 

  • Professional doctors
  • Well equipped clinics
  • Professional surrogacy agencies
  • Low costs
  • Simple collection of documents

 

Disadvantages

 

  • Ukraine is not a member of European Union (strict legal EU protection does not apply to clinics).

 

Verdict : When intended parents make right decisions concerning clinics and agencies, there is no need to worry about membership of EU. You can read about how to choose a right surrogacy agency on our blog. We will be offering more information gradually. Taking into account all of the advantages that the country offers, the answer is –  yes, parents can and should consider Ukraine as an attractive option for surrogacy.

 

Surrogacy Destinations for Heterosexual Couples

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It happens that surrogacy programs are sometimes the only option left for people with fertility issues. Unfortunately, it is not available at any place, as surrogacy is banned in many countries. Today, we are going to orientate on surrogacy destinations for heterosexual couples. As promised, we are not going to use a bunch of possibly complicated words without definitions , so, heterosexual couple simply means a couple of male and a female partner. You may refer to them as traditional, straight and etc.

 

We will briefly introduce surrogacy in the following countries : Ukraine, Georgia and Russia. They are considered to be in the list of the most appropriate options, because surrogacy there is legal and regulated by the law.

 

We have emphasized legality, because as you may have already read here, surrogacy programs are also offered in countries, where it is not regulated by any kind of law. It’s not legal or illegal. As for married couples, it is recommended to find agencies in Ukraine, Georgia and Russia , because such processes as citizenship registration for babies, are significantly easier.

 

Surrogacy in Ukraine

 

In Ukraine, surrogacy is only legal if intended parents (IPs) are married. Additionally, they have to provide a confirmation from a doctor that using a surrogate mother is reasonable and essential in their case. However, Ukraine is a remarkable destination due to medical standards. Legislation has enabled parents to be the only legal parents of their newborn. Due to regulations by law,  it’s relatively easy to get a birth certificate for a child and leave the country in a short period of time. Surrogate mothers are not allowed to be genetically connected to the baby, so they can not become egg donors.

 

Surrogacy in Georgia

 

Surrogacy in Georgia has been regulated since 1997 and couples from different parts of the world have travelled there to fulfill their dream of becoming parents. Similar to Ukraine, Georgia accepts only legally married couples for surrogacy programs and it is fairly simple to collect all of the needed documents. Birth certificates do not include any kind of information about surrogate mother or egg donor.  Surrogate mothers can not become egg donors at the same time. Georgia is known for high success rate in IVF fertilization as well as professional agencies and clinics.

 

Surrogacy in Russia

 

In Russia, intended parents don’t have to be married, single parents are welcome too. Prices are affordable and surrogacy agencies are doing everything to deliver the best results. However, according to the Family Code of Russia, surrogate mother, even if she doesn’t have any genetic link to the baby, is allowed to reject intended parents and refuse to give “her” child for adoption. There have been several court cases in Russia around the issue, so, if possible, IP(s) should require additional guarantees from the surrogacy agencies.

 

It is essential to be familiar with specifications and regulations before choosing a suitable destination and we recommend future parents to inform themselves as much as possible.

 

 

Surrogacy Destinations for LGBT Couples

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Choosing surrogacy destinations for LGBT couples might seem complicated at first sight as they are getting fewer. Lately we have witnessed how India shut its doors to LGBT couples. Cambodia, Nepal and Thailand followed shortly after.

Good news are that a lot of agencies and clinics are doing their best to offer new surrogacy destinations and help LGBT people to become parents. As a result there are several countries where professional surrogacy agencies are welcoming customers independent of their sexual orientation. Currently our list of destinations consists of the following countries :  Mexico, Southeast Asia, Kenya, United States and Canada. Let’s shortly discuss backgrounds and  regulations in each of them.

 

Surrogacy in Mexico

 

Similar to the United States, Mexico consists of several states and each has it’s own legislation. After Mexican state of Tabasco banned surrogacy, it was commonly believed that similarly happened in the entire country. However, on the contrary, a number agencies in Mexico are leading surrogacy programs successfully. Mostly, they are operating in Cancun and Mexico City. What needs to be taken into consideration, is that like South East Asia and Kenya, surrogacy is not controlled by the law – it’s neither banned, nor legal. Accordingly, there is a theoretical risk that surrogate mother refuses to give a child to parents. But don’t worry, as practically  these scenarios do not happen merely due to surrogates’ monetary interests.

Mexico is even more attractive option for future parents as it’s a popular tourist destination. Cancun is definitely a dreamy destination for vacation and for investors accordingly. Due to the increasing number of clinics and foreign investments, compared to the  past 3 years the success rate of In Vitro Clinics has grown significantly.

 

Surrogacy in Southeast Asia

 

Recent surrogacy bans in Asia (Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia) have been tough and sad because the prices are much affordable in this region. However there are more countries in Southeast Asia that are still good and affordable options for parents.

 

Surrogacy in Kenya

 

Surrogacy in Kenya is not regulated by the law either. Despite that, a lot of surrogacy agencies are working successfully in this country. Nairobi , the capital city of Kenya,  is quite developed and even closer to many European cities than some cities in Southeast Asia.  Additionally, Indian doctors, who used to be successful when surrogacy was legal in India, are now owners of clinics in Nairobi. Thanks to professionalism of these doctors, parents do not have to worry about success rate and the quality. Same applies to maternity hospitals.

 

Surrogacy in the United States

 

Surrogacy in the United States is legalised in several states. In those states, unlike Mexico, Southeast Asia and Kenya, future parents have more legal assurances. However , taking into account that prices rise up to 100 – 200 000 USD, United States is not an affordable option for most of the couples.

 

Surrogacy in Canada

 

In Canada it is illegal to pay a surrogate mother for the service of carrying a child. This is called “commercial surrogacy” and  is prohibited unlike “Altruistic surrogacy”, which means reimbursing a surrogate for all of the expenses that are caused by pregnancy . Parents cover only the realistic costs (such as medical examinations and traveling). A lot of agencies promote altruistic surrogacy programs in Canada, however the prices that are still payable by intended parents are so high that the eventual amount is nearly the same as in the US.

 

Do not be afraid of going to the countries where surrogacy is not regulated by the law. Despite the sudden and strict ban in Cambodia, Nepal and Thailand all of the parents left countries with their newborns without problems. Just for the information – if you suddenly face the similar surrogacy ban yourself, you will probably exit the country a bit later than it was promised by your agency (for example 2 or 3 months instead of 1).