Golden Standards – the Surrogate Mothers selection criteria

When a woman agrees to become a surrogate mother, she commits to carrying another woman’s child in her womb. This is a huge commitment that has several requirements, but many of these are not set in stone and are instead examined on a case-by-case basis. The intended parents, the surrogacy clinic, and the surrogate’s primary medical consultant are all considered first when making any decisions involving the surrogacy, but there are still some common guidelines to be followed to become a surrogate.

Prior Births

The foremost requirement for becoming a surrogate is to already be a mother. A woman without proven successful births cannot be considered a wise investment in terms of both time and money, as there are simply too many unknowns involved. Issues involving a healthy emotional attachment to the pregnancy and proper care for personal well-being are also considerations that are eased by her having previously gone through a successful pregnancy.

Health Concerns

Health issues are a foremost consideration of getting approval to be a surrogate mother. Any medical history related to miscarriages, premature births, ectopic pregnancies, or gestational diabetes disqualifies a woman from becoming a surrogate.

Additionally, the presence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), as well as being overweight or smoking also bar women from taking on the responsibilities of becoming a surrogate. A surrogate should be in good health with a minimal family history of birth defects, cancers, or other physical disorders.

Age Considerations

Since there is no set-in-stone rule for surrogacy qualification, a surrogate’s age can be anywhere between the ages of 21 and 40. Surrogates over the age of 37 should have had a successful pregnancy and birth within the past 2 years and carry a certificate clearing her to become a surrogate mother from her physician. Whatever the situation, age requirements vary from one case to another.

Legal Requirements

A background check on the surrogate in regards to criminal and driving records is usually conducted before registering a woman in a surrogacy program. Her insurance policies and other clauses of pregnancy and delivery are also verified with the assistance of her attorney. A surrogacy contract is drafted to establish the financial responsibilities of the intended parents towards the surrogate, and details of steps that could be taken in issues concerning abortion in case of apparent problems with the pregnancy. The agreement also covers medical insurance and payments.

Ukraine Surrogacy Eligibility

In order to get a surrogate assigned to their surrogacy program in Ukraine, intended parents have to provide medical reports from a doctor to justify their decision to proceed with using surrogacy to have a child. These medical reports should confirm unsuccessful IVF treatments with high-quality embryos in the past, or any of the other following medical conditions:

• Absence of a womb, which can be either inborn or acquired
• Impossible pregnancy and delivery due to deformation of the uterus
• Incurable synechia of womb cavity
• Presence of somatic diseases in the mother that prevents carrying a pregnancy and puts her health or life at risk
• Minimum 4 unsuccessful IVF attempts with high-quality embryos

Surrogate Mothers in Ukraine

A surrogate mother in Ukraine is required to go through a series of medical tests and psychological examinations to qualify for the program. She is chosen from a database of profiles provided by surrogacy specialist doctors concerning the case. The selection process for the surrogacy program is coordinated by a fertility specialist assigned to the case. Several candidates are considered by the fertility clinic’s medical professionals, but the intended parents have the right to choose their surrogate from the available profiles, and they also have the opportunity to meet with them ahead of making their final decision.

Surrogates Medical Checkup

Every surrogate mother has to have had their own child before qualifying to be a part of any surrogate motherhood program in Ukraine as per surrogacy law. Apart from her maternal status, her age is also a factor considered in the surrogacy program. A woman between the ages of 18 and 35 is usually medically safe to carry a child for 9 months.

The surrogate also has to undergo blood tests like ACID, hepatitis, bacterial swabs, syphilis, ultrasound, and other general examinations as prescribed by the surrogacy medical consultant.

Specific, specialist tests like drug tests or nicotine tests are carried out as part of the psychological check-up. At the time of gestation each surrogate has to undertake screening tests check for genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome. The intended parents want to be one hundred percent assured of the medical and psychological health of the surrogate before signing a contract with her. A healthy and intelligent person is what every intended parent seeks for their surrogacy program.

The surrogate has to be mentally fit to take on the responsibilities of being a surrogate mother. The physical health of the surrogate may be the prime factor that contributes to the health of the baby during the gestational period, but a mentally healthy woman can be the best care giver to the child during the pregnancy and be prepared to hand it over to the intended parents after delivery, as well as ready to accept the clauses of the legal surrogacy contract and professional enough to handle any emotional issues she might face during the process.

Prena Test

A prena test is a non-invasive technique used to examine potential risks of Down Syndrome. It detects the presence of 21 chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus with 95% accuracy. This is not an obligatory examination but is highly recommended for those surrogates with high-risk levels during the first or second Down syndrome screening.

Information about Ukrainian Surrogacy

Ukraine is a popular surrogacy destination for people all over the world. The greatest fear of most intended parents is the surrogate becoming attached to the baby. This is an understandable development, but for this reason the surrogates are professionally screened to assess their mental stability. The presence of even low-level mental instabilities can often be a disqualifier. Additionally, she should be prepared and ready to hand over the child at the end of the process – a certain level of emotional attachment is normal and healthy, but it should not impede the process and cause undue stress for the intended parents.

Surrogacy law in Ukraine favors the intended parents. They are declared as the legal parents of a child born from a surrogate, and there is a legal requirement for the surrogate to pass the child over to the intended parents after the birth. There are no additional procedures to be followed in order to obtain the birth certificates or other related documents to take the child back to their own country. The surrogacy contract should be drafted and registered in order to avoid any future complications.