Why Ukraine?
- Ukraine is a popular destination for surrogacy.
- Legislation in Ukraine recognizes parents as the only legal parents of surrogate-born babies whose names appear on the birth certificate. This simplifies the registration process of babies at the respective embassies and enables parents to leave the country in a shorter period of time.
- Ukraine is also less expensive than other legal surrogacy destinations. We maintain remarkably high medical standards that have led to exceptional success rates. By keeping errors to a minimum, we can also keep our costs to a minimum.
Average cost of surrogacy = 30 000 – 33 500 USD
Average cost Surrogacy + Egg Donation = 35 000 – 38 000 USD
Surrogacy process in 12 steps:
1. Get connected!
The first step is to get in touch with us by any means most convenient to you – e-mail, WhatsUp. fill in an application form, call, or by skype.
2. Get prepared
After some initial questions which you might have, you might be ready to come and therefore we start to prepare your first visit to Kyiv, Ukraine. Please, make sure that you have all the documents and medical tests ready. The day of the first visit will be scheduled at your convenience. Period of stay in Kyiv 1-2 weeks.
3. 1st Visit
The first visit dedicated to signing the legal agreement, making first and second installments, an examination by the fertility doctor at the clinic (1-2 days). Prior to your visit, we will take care of your meeting at the airport, accommodation, transportation in the city, personal assistance in the IVF clinic during the appointment day, medical assistance with your IVF protocol, or egg donation protocol till the IVF pregnancy positive result. You can arrive together with your partner for the first visit or husband can arrive alone, but with all the documents wife. 1-2 weeks or more.
4. Find egg donor/Ovarian Stimulation. IVF
As soon as you sign a surrogacy contract and undergo all procedures like doctor’s examination and consultation, make all necessary medical tests, you can start selecting a suitable egg donor from our egg donor database. This database has egg donors’ photos and basic information, so you can actually see who will donate eggs for your egg donation program. Actually you can start before your first visit, but your ovum donor is available for booking only after the first payment to the egg donation clinic. There are two options for choosing a candidate. This can be done by your reproductive specialist with the help of your program coordinator, according to your blood groups, wished phenotype and so on or you can choose your wished oocyte donor from the database together with your family.
Ovarian stimulation. IVF In case you are stimulated for your own eggs, you will receive all necessary medication with you and start stimulation back home. You arrive in Ukraine approximately 10 days before the egg retrieval procedure for ultrasound checks and for additional medication. Please note that you will stay about 10-14 days in case of your own ovarian stimulation.
5. Find Surrogate Mother
While choosing egg donor, your IVF doctor finds s a surrogate mother match for you. It is very important that a doctor selects a surrogate mother from a surrogate mother database according to her match criteria to your egg donor and to your medical record. The appearance of a surrogate is of no importance in this instance as healthy reproductive organs, general good health, and match with you and your egg donor. You can see some of our experienced surrogate mothers on our surrogate mothers’ webpage. You can meet your surrogate mother on the day of the embryo transfer or on the 12th week of the gestation. You can also meet your surrogate mother before the embryo transfer takes place.
6. Synchronization of Cycles
You will be informed about the starting time for your donor-surrogate mother synchronization process, your arrival day for donor eggs fertilization and blastocyst embryo transfer to your surrogate mother. You will receive all necessary medication and fertility protocols in the clinic to proceed with your fertility treatment back home in case you are stimulated for your own eggs.
7. 2nd Visit. IVF procedure.
Please note that you don’t have to arrive together with your partner for the second visit. The husband can arrive alone for the procedure or we can use his frozen sperm sample if it has been frozen on the first visit.
Your stay will last a minimum of 1 day.
In case you undergo ovarian stimulation, you arrive earlier than your husband, or your husband can accompany you for the whole period or just arrive for the fertilization procedure.
8. Embryo Transfer
Embryo cultivation lasts 5 days in the specialized laboratory in the fertility medical center. The procedure of embryo transfer for your surrogate mother takes place in the morning on the 5th day.
In case you undergo ovarian stimulation, you are fully assisted during this procedure. Your coordination manager accompanies you to the clinic room, meets you after the procedure, and gives explanations regarding your protocol actions after 5-6 days.
9. Pregnancy Test
Your surrogate mother makes a blood test for pregnancy hormone hCG level 14 days after your embryo transfer. Our coordination manager informs the result to you the same day by mail or phone.
Positive – We are glad and wait for the first ultrasound.
Negative – you can process with the next attempts. If you have an unlimited surrogacy package with a guarantee, you proceed until positive results without additional payments (in unlimited packages).
10. Baby/Babies Birth
The birth takes place in a maternity home -private or state-owned. Intended parents will be informed when to arrive for the birth. Your child receives a birth certificate that states you as legal parents without mentioning the surrogate mother and surrogacy process. Your surrogate process is controlled by the personal coordinator and you are always aware of all details, time of your arrival, the health state of your surrogate mother, and her location. Your personal coordinator together with a surrogacy lawyer prepares your documents, checks Embassy requirements for any possible changes, in order, the legal part goes smoothly and ends up receiving a baby passport. Intended Parents can visit children on the day of the birth or the next day after a night birth.
11. Legal Process
The legal process starts right after the birth of the child and differs from country to country of the intended parents. Our legal team will let you know the duration of the process and the list of documents needed beforehand. Our legal team has extensive experience dealing with various countries legislation – EU, North America, UK, Australia, China.
12. Return Home
On receiving a birth certificate or passport at your Embassy, you are ready to travel back home. If needed one of our nannies will accompany you to your home country.
Legislation on international adoptions in Ukraine:
- The Family Code of Ukraine, adopted by the Law of Ukraine No. 2947-III of 01/10/2002;
- Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, adopted by the Law of Ukraine No. 1618-IV of 03/18/2004;
- “Order on Adoption Procedures and Supervision on Observance of Rights of the Adopted Children”, approved by the Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 905 of 10/08/2008;
- “Rules for Vital Statistic Registration in Ukraine”, adopted by the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine No. 52/5 of 10/18/2000;
- The Law of Ukraine No. 2235-III of 01/18/2001“On Citizenship of Ukraine”;
- The Law of Ukraine No. 3929-XII of 02/04/1994 “On Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons”.
Ukraine is a member of the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the UN General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 that establishes one set of fundamental rights for all children and young people.
On April 28, 2009 Ukraine signed the European Convention on the Adoption of Children (Revised) passed on May 7, 2008 at a meeting of the committee of ministers of the Council of Europe, which became an integral part of Ukrainian legislation. The aim of the Convention is to set out a collection of legal rules aimed at harmonizing the adoption of children in Europe according to the core principles of the Council of Europe. The Convention takes account of the social and legal developments of recent years as well as the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. It underlines that the best interests of the child must always take precedence over any other considerations. According to this international document, the state-participants have the right to pass provisions, which, according to them, are more favorable for the adoption of the child. This means that in case if some provisions of Ukrainian legislation differ from the provisions of the Convention, and these provisions are more favorable for the adoption process, then this will not be regarded as a violation or non-compliance with the international document.
Adopting internationally requires that the Adoptive Parents observe the laws of the country where they live and the country from which we hope to adopt. Every country has requirements that prospective Adoptive Parents must meet, usually regarding age, income, number of existing children in the home, some indicators of marital stability (number of divorces, years married) etc. We are passionate to help the Prospective Parents to understand the law, and the aim of this survey is to provide a brief overview regarding the legal regulation of various aspects of international adoptions in Ukraine.
Requirements for Adoptive Parents
Under Ukrainian legislation which came into effect on October 4, 2011, Adoptive Parents must be at least 21 years old, and at least 15 years older than the adopted child (the 45-year maximum age difference requirement has been eliminated). In case of adoption of an 18-year old child, the minimum age difference between the adopted child and the adopting parents shall be at least 18 years.
Foreign citizens must be officially married in order to be eligible to adopt a Ukrainian child.
Prior divorce is acceptable and there are no restrictions on the number of children already living in the home.
At the time of dossier submission to the State Departments for Adoptions and Protection of Rights of the Child (DAPRC) of Ukraine, all documents should remain valid for at least six months. Documents submitted are valid for 12 months for the date of issuance (not submission) or from the date of notarization.
In addition to the above changes, the DAPRC has made some changes to the priority which will be given to Adoptive Parents under certain conditions. Adoptive Parents who meet the following requirements will be given priority over other hopeful adoptive parents:
- Biological relatives of the adopted child;
- Applying to adopt a biological sibling of an already adopted child;
Applying to adopt a child suffering from one of the health conditions published on the website http://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/list_of_health_problems_eng_march2012.pdf.
– Who can be adopted?
Citizens of foreign countries may adopt only those children from Ukraine who:
- Are at least 5 years old (with the only exception for):
- children with certain special needs;
- relative adoptions;
- siblings adoptions in case that all siblings are being adopted in one and the same family and at least one of them is 5 years old;
- Have been registered with the State Departments for Adoptions and Protection of Rights of the Child for a year (DAPRC).
Ukrainian orphanages are responsible for regularly providing full and complete information on children available for adoption to the database of the DAPRC. Firstly, the local administration creates a file for each child available for adoption and issues an application that contains basic information on this child and his/her photo. This application is retained in the local administration for a month, while Ukraine families are encouraged for adoption. After being kept in a district office for a month, the application is further forwarded to the regional office that has another month to find a Ukrainian adoptive family for the child. If the child still has not been adopted by Ukrainian citizens, his/her application is transferred to DAPRC to be input in its database. Once the child’s application reaches DAPRC, the Department has a year to find Ukrainian adoptive parents for a child. After that, the child is available for intercountry adoption.
Please be aware that not all children in orphanages are adaptable. It may happen that biological parents temporarily place their child(ren) in an orphanage due to financial or other hardship, initially planning to return the child when they are able to do so. In such cases, it is needed to get the consent of a child’s birth parents for adoption by other persons.
Sibling adoptions
If all siblings are eligible for international adoption, they normally cannot be separated by adoption.
Special needs or medical conditions
There are specific health problems that allow orphans under 5 years, as well as those, who have not been listed on the central registry for one year, to be adopted. The current list of these health problems in English is available on the website: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/list_of_health_problems_eng_march2012.pdf.
Competent Ukrainian authority
The State Department on Adoptions (SDA) is no longer the authority to process adoption cases. The Department for Adoption and Protection of the Rights of the Child (DAPRC), which is namely a part of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, in now the only legal Ukrainian authority for both domestic and international adoptions.
Legal consequences of adoption
Once the adoption is final, Ukrainian law treats the adopting parents as if they were the child’s birth parents:
- They become fully responsible for the child’s care, education, and support until adulthood – or even longer, in some situations. They have the right to exercise authority over the child.
- They also become legally responsible fort he child;
- They have a right to inherit from the child if the child dies without a will.
On the other hand, upon granting of an adoption order the child’s natural parents will no longer have any rights or responsibilities towards the child:
- The birth parents are relieved of any responsibilities to the child, including the child’s care, education, and support.
- Normally, the adopted children lose their right to visitation with their birth parents.
- They are relieved of any legal responsibilities to their birth parents.
- The adopted children lose the right to inherit from their birth parents if the birth parents die without a will.
Thereby, adoption is permanent: Once the adoption is final, it can only be canceled under very unusual circumstances.
If you need to speak with a lawyer about international family planning, legal separation, child custody, enforcement of a court order, fertility treatment options, inheritance rules or another family or succession law matter, please contact our legal team – [email protected]
There are different types of surrogacy which in turn gives rise to different legal considerations, documents and procedures.
The author of this text is a British lawyer living and working in Ukraine and will be pleased to assist with all legal requirements and documentation. He can be contacted through Medicare4U offices.
UKRAINE IVF and Surrogacy LEGISLATION:
According to the Family Code of Ukraine, Article 123.2, if a couple conceives a human embryo as a result of the application of assisted reproductive technology, and this embryo is transferred into the body of another woman, the couple is the parents of the child.
According to the Family Code and Order N 771 of the Health Ministry of Ukraine, the following are acceptable indications for surrogacy:
Absence of a womb (inborn or acquired)
Deformation of the cavity or cervix uterus, making pregnancy and delivery impossible
Synechi of the womb cavity
Severe somatic diseases, making the duration of pregnancy impossible
Multiple implantation failures connected with endometrial factors
4 or more unsuccessful attempts of IVF with high-quality embryos
The surrogate mother should be between the ages of 20 and 35 years with at least one healthy child of her own. She should also be in a healthy mental and physical state.
Other important legislation to take note of is the Order of the Justice Ministry of Ukraine № 52/5, dated 18.1.2000:
“2.2. The registration of a child’s birth by the woman (donor) is realized according to the application of the couple who gave their consent for her insemination. In this case, simultaneously with the document which certifies the birth, the written consent of the woman (donor) certified by an attorney is issued; in this document, the woman (donor) gives her written consent to record the couple as the child’s parents. In this case, in the “For notes” column, the following inscription is made: “the mother of the child according to the medical certificate regarding the birth, form № 103/о-“
Ukraine is one of the few surrogacy-friendly states in Europe. It does not limit surrogacy-related payments and does not require the parents-to-be to go through legal procedures in order to obtain a court order. No adoption of your own child is required. The recipient family creates embryos using their own or donated, gametes through IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization), which are transferred to the gestational surrogate mother.
Please, download our standard agreement for Surrogacy
Fees GBP for the year 2018 (Surrogacy with egg donation or Intended Parents’ genetic material – full package*)
Agency Fees
Service Fee |
Description |
Amount |
Screening of the Candidates for Surrogate Mother + Preparation and examination of the selected by Intended parents Surrogate Mother |
– presentation from 1 to 2 surrogate mother candidates (according to intended parents’ requirements); – complex medical examination of SM in clinic of reproductive medicine – organization of meeting with SM candidates; – conclusion of psychologist; |
1080 GBP |
Legal support of surrogacy program before child’s birth |
-legal counselling concerning the surrogacy program; – obtaining SM Husband’s consent in written for his wife’s participation in the surrogacy program; – drafting and execution of contracts and other legal documents for the participants of the surrogacy program; – notary services; |
|
Organization and supervision of medical part of program for SM and Intended Parents |
– presentation of detailed information about medical program; – arrangement of appointment to doctor; – control of medicaments purchase and usage by SM for the entire period of pregnancy; – providing Intended parents and SM with results and reports concerning the program; |
|
Emergency fund |
– insured sum for unpredicted medical and organizational expenses in case of emergency; |
|
Legal supportafterbirth |
– obtaining of medical birth certificate of a newborn; – execution of SM’s consent for registration Intended parents as legal parents of a child; – notary services; – assistance in registration of a child in Vital Records Office, obtaining of birth certificate; – support in legalization, translation of the documents into English, preparation of the documents for the embassy, successful leaving for a home country. |
1200 GBP |
TOTAL: 7980 GBP
SM Compensation
Compensation to SM |
Payable to SM after giving a birth to a child and signing the consent for registration of the couple as legal parents of the child. Delivery of 1 child |
9,500 – 12.500 GBP |
Monthly Allowance |
Payable to SM in installments for food, vitamins, cloths, pregnancy testing supplies, calls, etc. |
255 GBP/month 2300 GBP (total) |
TOTAL: minimum 11,800.00 GBP
Clinic fees and medical expenses
Clinic consultation fee & medical tests |
Covers all the medical consultation and tests for Intended Parents (consultation of a gynecologist, spermogram for the husband, medical examination of the Genetic couple for IVF Program) |
8,800 GBP |
Donation cycle or IVF program |
– Includes IVF-ICSI+Medicaments for Donor or Intended mother stimulation – Monitoring for SM – Embryo transfer |
|
Blastocyst culture |
– Growing of obtained embryos up to 5 days |
|
Embryo conservation |
– Covers storage up to 12 months |
|
Medicaments for SM |
– medicaments for SM needed for one IVF attempt*; – medicaments for 1 child pregnancy period*; *the volume of medicaments may very in every single case. |
|
Supervision of the Pregnancy with 1 child |
Fixed Clinic’s Fee – for medical services. Payable to the clinic after confirmation of pregnancy |
|
Maternity hospital fees |
State-run maternity hospital: – selection of maternity hospital; – organization of medical support and stay of SM in the maternity department; – organization of delivery; – delivery fees; – facilities for SM. |
TOTAL: minimum 8,800 GBP
Medicare4U fee – 100.00 GBP
Possible additional compensations and fees
SM compensation for failed IVF attempt – pregnancy is not viable |
255 GBP |
Ÿ payable to SM for every failed cycle |
Compensation to SM for pregnancy termination |
255 GBP for the current month |
Ÿ Paid monthly allowance is not returned |
Supervisor services |
negotiable |
Ÿ escort to the clinic; Ÿ visiting SM at home; Ÿ supervision of fulfillment of obligations by SM; Ÿ reporting; |
Extra compensation to SM in case of twins |
1900 GBP |
Ÿ the sum is added to the main SM compensation |
Supervision of the Pregnancy with 2 children (twins) |
2850 GBP |
Ÿ Fixed Clinic’s Fee – for medical services. |
Guest services |
||
Transfer from/to international airport «Boryspil» (one-way trip) |
30 GBP |
Ÿ meeting at the airport; Ÿ accompanying to the hotel, apartment, clinic; |
Apartment rental |
from 35 GBP/night |
Ÿ price depends on the district, conditions |
Apartment for SM |
from 160 GBP |
Ÿ price for searching service |
Overview of Ukraine legislation on Surrogacy