As of today, 33 fertility clinics offer IVF and a full range of fertility testing and assisted conception services in Ukraine ? among them 6 public and 27 public medical institutions. About 11 000 ART cycles are performed year by year and about 110-120 surrogacy programs take place annually in Ukraine.

Due to favourable surrogacy legislation, Ukraine has become a popular centre for surrogacy with more and more couples turning to Ukrainian surrogates to make their dreams of happy parenting come true. Just enter the word ?surrogacy? into any Google site and you will immediately find that Ukraine is one of the top countries in the world for surrogacy programs.

Taking into account increasing use of Assisted Reproductive Technology, a number of legislative proposals were registered in Ukrainian Parliament to meet further practical needs in this specific and delicate area:
In the meanwhile, a draft bill on amendments to the Family Code of Ukraine, stipulating certain restrictions in the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology for the citizens of the countries banning out this method of fertility treatment, has reached the committee stage. Such approach was developed to protect the best interests of the child in international surrogacy cases and minimize potential risks pertaining to establishment or recognition of the child?s legal parentage according to the local legislation of the country where the Intended Parents have permanent residence.
It is also suggested to expressly recognize by law that absence of a genetic relationship between a child and a surrogate mother, as well as genetic link with at least one of the Intended Parents to a child shall be considered essential conditions for carrying out surrogacy programs in Ukraine.
Further, a bill draft setting an upper age limit for the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology was introduced to the Ukrainian Parliament.

However, there is still no separate law in Ukraine regulating the relationships of medically assisted reproduction to the full extent. Though the bill draft ?On Assistance to Infertile Families? has been recently rejected by the Ukrainian Parliament due to a number of shortcomings expressed by the Central Scientific Expert Office of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, it is anticipated that a uniform act governing the issues of the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Ukraine should be put through the Ukrainian Parliament in the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, the ethics surrounding surrogacy remain ambivalent: Are women correct in selling their reproductive abilities for money? Is any harm in psychological or physical terms inflicted upon a surrogate mother or a child? Should single persons or semi-sex couple make use of surrogacy programs?

Ukrainian reproductologists strongly believe that each person deserves an opportunity to become a parent as well as any child deserves to get a chance to be born. Consequently, every possible way that facilitates the birth of a human being and family creation are to be deemed as moral and acceptable, while politicians, lawyers and medical practitioners should by all means take steps to eliminate sophisticated conflict between the rules of law and morality and support reproductive and surrogacy programs.

We cannot emphasize enough that it is highly advisable for Intended Parents to seek legal advice before undergoing surrogacy program. You have to be prepared for taking care of formalities on your way back home with your baby child. Despite of any bureaucratic hurdles nothing in the world can compare to joy and happiness of parenthood.