WHAT IS SURROGACY?
What is surrogacy, and what are the different types of surrogacy?
Surrogacy is a reproductive process whereby a woman, called a surrogate or gestational carrier, carries someone else's baby.
Depending on the assisted reproduction technique used, we can distinguish between traditional surrogacy and gestational surrogacy. The woman carrying the baby will be referred to as a surrogate mother or gestational carrier accordingly.
There are two types of surrogacy:
Traditional surrogacy: It involves inseminating artificially, using intrauterine insemination (IUI), the surrogate, which turns her into the genetic mother of the child. This means that the surrogate and the baby share their DNA. In other words, she is at the same time both the gestational mother and the child's biological mother. This surrogacy type is forbidden in Ukraine because of the genetic link between the surrogate mother and the baby.
Gestational surrogacy: Gestational, full, or host surrogacy is a more complex procedure from the technical point of view. However, given that the gestational carrier is not genetically linked to the child, it is the type of surrogacy used nowadays.
In this case, the surrogate does not use her own eggs. Her role is limited to carrying the pregnancy. For this reason, she is called
a gestational carrier, often abbreviated as GC.
The ovulation stimulation process and the subsequent collection of eggs are carried out in the intended mother, as long as she does not have any fertility problem or an egg donor (a third party). By no means will the gestational carrier be the same person as the egg donor.
The eggs are fertilized in the laboratory using the husband's or partner's sperm, or donor sperm if needed, using classical IVF or IVF with ICSI. Finally, the resulting embryos are transferred into the gestational carrier.
Also, surrogacy arrangements can be classified into altruistic or commercial depending on whether the surrogate receives a financial reward or not for carrying someone else's pregnancy:
• Altruistic or uncompensated surrogacy
No payment is given to the surrogate as a reward for carrying the pregnancy. However, it is possible to reimburse all the expenses incurred during pregnancy or as a consequence of being pregnant, including maternity clothes, special care, emotional support, a special diet, etc.
• Commercial, gainful, or paid surrogacy
The gestational carrier is economically compensated for the inconveniences caused by the surrogacy process, including physically and emotionally. Additionally, she receives reimbursement of expenses.
What types of surrogacy options are legal in Ukraine (and, thus, can be provided by our agency)?
1. ONLY gestational surrogacy is legal in Ukraine.
2. Both altruistic and commercial surrogacies are legal in Ukraine. But which one will be put in the surrogacy contract depends on the intended parents' country's law. We will choose the one that is more preferred in your legal system to avoid any future legal problems that may occur.
QUESTIONS ON THE PROCESS OF CHOOSING A SURROGATE MOTHER
How do surrogate mothers get chosen by our agency?
There are a lot of women who want to become a surrogate mother in Ukraine. The agency informs candidates about the possibility of participating in the program. Potential surrogate mothers fill out questionnaires with their data, including medical ones, and based on the preliminary information, we select potential candidates.
For a surrogate mother to be chosen to enter our programs, we look at:
• Age. Preferably, potential surrogate mothers must be of up to 32 years old. And not less than 18 years old.
• Previous births. The surrogate mother must have at least one successful birth of her own child before entering a program. We also do not admit women who gave more than 3 births to exclude health risks.
• Medical history. Women who become our surrogate mothers must have no history of C-section. Their Rh factor must be positive (+). Their weight and general health must be within the norm. Surrogate mothers are included in the programs if they have no serious history of diseases and have not had any complications during previous births.
• If a surrogate mother is married, she should present a document which has to be signed by her husband before a notary public giving his consent.
What kind of proof do we require to provide by potential surrogate mothers to prove they are fit to be a part of our programs?
Initially, we ask a potential surrogate mother to undergo an ultrasound examination at a local clinic near her house. Then we receive the results and send them to our trusted doctor to approve whether the woman can be included in the list of potential surrogate mothers within YourBaby agency. Then we ask this woman to pass the minimum package of tests at home to exclude severe viral diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis, etc.
If the ultrasound and additional medical tests prove that the potential surrogate mother is healthy, she is deemed fit to be a surrogate mother for our clients. When the surrogate mother is chosen for the program by potential parents and us, we invite her to undergo a full medical examination at the clinic where her program will occur.
Do intended parents have access to their surrogate mother's medical test results?
Yes. Future parents can see all of the results of the medical tests we run before including a surrogate mother into the program and all the medical documentation during the program.
How do parents participate in the selection of a surrogate mother?
Intended parents provide us with the list of parameters they want their future surrogate mother to fit. We then go through our database and come up with a few candidates who fit those criteria. And present options to our client(s).
Parents can familiarize themselves with the surrogate mother's questionnaire selected for them after she is approved by the medical staff and our internal requirements. Intended parents can also become acquainted with their potential surrogate mother via Skype beforehand. Then intended parents approve their surrogate mother, and we move forward with the program.
PREGNANCY SUCCESS RATE AND
WHAT INFLUENCES IT
What is the percentage of probability that a surrogate mother will become pregnant? What does it depend on?
The overall success rate of the whole IVF process is around 60%.
What affects the success rate:
1. The woman's age and health provide the eggs – as we become older, egg quality diminishes. Note that our donors are all aged between 18-32.
2. The quality of the sperm used to fertilize the egg. We use ICSI at our clinic, so motility isn't the biggest issue, but the sperm's quality will still affect the process.
3. The maturity of the eggs retrieved. We do not stimulate recently stimulated donors; they need to recover for 2-3 cycles before participating in the program after a previous donation.
4. The quality of embryos: We wait until day 5 (blastocyst stage) and will only implant high-quality embryos.
5. PGD testing will indicate that the final number of viable embryos as the PGD test will detect any genetic abnormalities with the embryos.
6. Implantation: This depends on the health of the surrogate (the surrogate also has to go through many different tests before participating in a program).
COMMUNICATION WITH A SURROGATE MOTHER DURING A PROGRAM
Can intended parents communicate directly with their surrogate mother during the program?
We are against this. We recommend that the intended parents communicate in a group chat with the personal manager to avoid misunderstandings. Most of the surrogate mothers do not speak English very well. They can misinterpret what intended parents say, and intended parents can get her answers wrong. That is why we advise communicating through your personal manager, who is qualified to speak on behalf of the agency, intended parents, and surrogate mother.
What is prohibited during the communication with the surrogate mother?
The program does not allow for additional payments above the terms of the contract, as well as gifts, etc. We understand that you might want to thank your surrogate mother, but we want to avoid any manipulation from the surrogate mother's side that can happen during the pregnancy. But you can gift something to your surrogate mother as a thank you after she gives birth.
What is prohibited for surrogate mothers during pregnancy?
The contract is strictly prohibited for a surrogate mother to smoke, drink alcohol, and take illegal substances. Also, it is forbidden to violate the principles of confidentiality. These are the things that influence a future child's health and intended parents' security. We do not tolerate violations of these two issues.
What guarantees are provided that the surrogate mother adheres to the terms of the contract?
A surrogate mother's personal manager provided by 'YourBaby' agency updates on a surrogate mother's well-being regularly. Surrogates have many tests and check-ups; they visit doctors every two weeks, and around week 32, they move closer to the delivery house ready for the birth. But if intended parents have doubts about the surrogate mother's information, we can visit her personally and check.
IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE WILL BE GLAD TO ANSWER THEM PERSONALLY.
