Egg Donation in Ukraine
Ukraine is among the most popular destinations that come to mind when intended parents travel abroad for fertility treatment, especially when it comes to egg donation. The country can offer more benefits than just deep history, impressive natural landmarks, and gorgeous architecture. Ukraine offers excellent and affordable treatment in high-quality clinics that are found in cities such as Kyiv and Lviv.
Why Choose IVF Treatment in Ukraine?
There are important reasons why it’s better to choose IVF treatment with donated eggs in Ukraine:
- Reputable and modern fertility clinics;
- Affordable IVF cost;
- The egg donation program is legally allowed;
- Perfect European-type egg donor;
- Experienced medical personnel who are fluent in English;
- Anonymity and variety of IVF treatment options;
- Future parents can determine healthy embryos with PGD and the gender of a future baby;
- Ukraine has no visa requirements for international patients from many European countries.
Egg Donation Law and Clinics Accreditation in Ukraine
Ukrainian law says that egg donation is the term for assisted reproductive treatment (ART) where a woman donates her eggs to another person with a fertility problem. Although this process must be an anonymous, voluntary, and altruistic act, the donor should have fair compensation for any inconveniences caused.
Women who wish to become egg donors in Ukraine are kept anonymous throughout the procedure, and therefore, spouses who resort to such fertility treatment to become parents will not be allowed to meet the donor in reality or contact her. However, patients and future parents have access to general information such as nationality, height, weight, eye coluor, hair colour, blood type or Rh factor.
- According to the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine № 787:
- Egg and sperm donation is anonymous;
- The surrogacy process is legal;
- The age of patients who wish to receive IVF treatment needs to be no older than 51 years;
- Same-sex relationships are not allowed to be treated;
- Single women can be treated;
- Embryos and eggs can be stored indefinitely.
Donor Screening by Ukrainian law
According to Ukrainian legal aspects, all potential donors must undergo medical testing to ensure the highest quality of donor eggs, which includes:
- Blood group and Rh factor;
- Full blood analysis;
- Coagulogram;
- Antibodies to HIV;
- Antibodies to syphilis;
- Hepatitis B (HBsAg);
- Hepatitis C (HCV);
- Blood analysis for IgM and IgG;
- Cytological examination of cervical smears;
- Bacterioscopic analysis of vaginal, urethral, and cervical canal discharges;
- General gynaecological analysis;
- Ultrasound examination of the pelvic organs;
- AMH, LH, E2;
- The conclusion from a General Physician that Egg Donor is healthy and doesn’t have any contraindications for pregnancy;
- Report from a paediatrician that egg donor’s children are healthy;
- Reports from a neurologist and psychologist.
The Ministry of Health regulates and sets up guidelines for using reproductive methods. According to Clause 5.5. of Order No. 787, there are primary requirements for egg donors:
- Women aged 18-35;
- Having at least one healthy child;
- Absence of hereditary diseases;
- Having no unhealthy habits;
- Having a good physical and mental health;
- Having no negative phenotypic manifestations.
How is egg donation in Ukraine done?
The process of egg donation involves the following steps:
- Screening: The egg donor undergoes a series of medical and psychological tests to ensure that she is physically and mentally healthy
- Stimulation: The egg donor is given medication to stimulate the production of multiple eggs
- Egg retrieval: The eggs are retrieved from the donor's ovaries using a needle guided by ultrasound
- Fertilization: The retrieved eggs are fertilized with sperm in a laboratory to create embryos
Embryo transfer: The embryos are transferred to the uterus of the intended mother or a surrogate
IVF clinics in Ukraine - fertility treatment of the highest standard
The general level of IVF clinics in Ukraine is considered to be of high quality. The country is a popular destination for IVF treatment due to its high success rates and affordable costs. The clinics offer a range of fertility treatments, including IVF, egg donation, and surrogacy, and have state-of-the-art facilities and a team of highly qualified doctors. Some clinics have been providing IVF and surrogacy treatments for over 15 years, and they have justified the trust of their patients from many countries. The clinics have a quality control system, and some of them have implemented ISO 9001 standards. The success rates of the clinics are high, with some clinics having a clinical pregnancy rate of up to 56% in IVF cycles and 64% in egg donation programs.
References
- Vlasenko, P. (2021). Global circuits of fertility: The political economy of the Ukrainian ova market. Indiana University. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/openview/a2c5b83804a6086bc1a43a9196d1294e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
- Pennings, G., De Mouzon, J., Shenfield, F., Ferraretti, A. P., Mardesic, T., Ruiz, A., & Goossens, V. (2014). Socio-demographic and fertility-related characteristics and motivations of oocyte donors in eleven European countries. Human Reproduction, 29(5), 1076-1089. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/29/5/1076/675905
- Walsh, A. P. H., Omar, A. B., Collins, G. S., Murray, G. U., Walsh, D. J., Salma, U., & Sills, E. S. (2010). Application of EU tissue and cell directive screening protocols to anonymous oocyte donors in western Ukraine: data from an Irish IVF programme. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 30(6), 613-616. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/01443615.2010.497875
