According to statistics, every tenth child in Europe is from a surrogate mother. Experts say that by 2030-2040 there will be 30% of such kids. The official statistics of the World Health Organization states that the quality of male sperm decreases, causing infertility. Earlier it was also considered normal to have three children by 25 y.o., and now women start thinking about a child after 40. All these causes the higher demand for surrogacy programs, the cost of which depends on many factors. Today, we will talk about the surrogacy procedure cost in Ukraine.
How Much Do Surrogacy Programs Cost?
First of all, it is worth saying that the legality of the surrogacy program is guaranteed by the Family Code of Ukraine. The surrogate cost in Ukraine ranges from $30 to $70 thousand, depending on the services, which include the payment for a surrogate mother program, accommodation, meetings, and tickets. Couples can stay in Ukraine for 2-3 months. It happens that the payment of a surrogate mother is a small part of the package. Medical services are very expensive, so clinics give a guarantee taking up to five fertilization attempts.
The surrogacy program is more expensive than in vitro fertilization, because the oocytes of the biological mother and the recipient, who will bear the baby, are separately stimulated. Therefore, the programs are expensive, but prices cannot be reduced, except perhaps removing additional services. However, in the United States, the cost of such programs reaches $300 thousand.
How Is the Surrogacy Procedure Held?
A surrogate mother can be an adult healthy (physically and mentally) woman who has her own healthy child. The surrogacy program means that a completely healthy woman agrees with the help of assisted reproductive technologies, to bear and give birth to a child, which will then be given to its genetic parents.
First of all, to ensure the legality of the services of surrogacy Ukraine, one parent (mother or father) must be genetically related to the unborn child. The woman’s oocytes are stimulated, while the surrogate mother takes contraceptives so that the menstruation cycles are synchronized. Then, the collection of woman’s oocytes, and man’s sperm takes place, after which the fertilization process begins. Embryos are implanted in the surrogate mother’s womb. After that, she takes medications for another 3 months, because she goes on someone else’s cycle.
When a child is born, parents should pass through the following procedures:
- get a certificate of birth from the hospital,
- confirm the genetic relationship in an independent laboratory,
- get a notarial child refusal from the surrogate mother,
- register a child to foreign parents in the State registry office.
The final step is to pass the legal procedures in the embassy. All embassies check the relationship, send tests to their home country, where they are verified. Clients from many countries are forced to stay in Ukraine for 2-3 months after the birth of a child since the embassies issue documents only after a complete and thorough check of each individual case.