Surrogacy

Surrogacy is a method of infertility treatment, in which the stages of conception and gestation take place outside the body of the biological mother. Essentially, another woman is carrying a not genetically related child for a couple who cannot have children. There are 2 types of surrogacy – traditional and gestational. At the same time, in different countries the legislative attitude to this type of technology is different.

What is surrogacy?

In the process of surrogacy, three or four people are involved:

The following individuals may also be involved:

• A biological father who acts as a sperm donor for fertilization.
• A biological mother who donates the egg cell.
• A surrogate mother is a woman of childbearing age without health problems and with the absence of bad habits, who agreed to bear and give birth to a child from biological parents, mainly for monetary compensation or free of charge.
• Egg or sperm donor. If the biological material of one of the potential parents is not suitable for the IVF procedure, donor eggs or donor sperm are used for fertilization. Important: either donor eggs or donor sperm can be used, but not both simultaneously. At least one part of the biological material should come from the potential parents.

That is, the embryo is obtained from the germ cells of the parents, but the surrogate mother bears the child. Since she is not biologically related to the unborn child, the baby does not inherit any of her facial or character traits. After birth, the biological parents take the newborn.

Types of surrogacy

Surrogacy has two types: traditional and gestational.

Traditional surrogacy

• Description
  The surrogate mother is the egg donor. The eggs are artificially fertilized with the sperm of the biological father of the unborn child.
• Peculiarities
  The method is banned in many countries around the world because it is unethical. After all, the wife of the child’s father has no genetic relation to the baby and can only adopt a baby with the consent of the woman who carried the baby.

Gestational surrogacy

• IVF using the germ cells of both biological parents.
  At the genetic level, there is a complete relationship between the baby and his or her parents. The method is used in case of miscarriage, for example, if all attempts ended in miscarriage.
• IVF using own eggs and donor sperm.
  It is used in the case of male infertility.. The genetic link is incomplete since the unborn child is only related to the mother.
• IVF using donor eggs and own sperm.
  Any woman can be an egg donor, except a surrogate mother (it is prohibited by law). The genetic link is also incomplete, as the child will be related only to the father by blood.

When is surrogacy advised?

Reproductive technology can be carried out only according to the indications, which include:

• Somatic diseases preventing normal conception, gestation and childbirth. These are pathologies of the heart, blood vessels, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, nervous systems, severe injuries and burns, their consequences. As well as diseases of the liver and kidneys, genetic disorders, oncology.
• Deformity, abnormal development or absence of the uterus.
• Failed in vitro fertilization attempts, in which it was not possible to obtain good quality embryos.
• More than 4 miscarriages on the same dates.

At the same time, there are contraindications for women who want to become surrogate mothers. These are pathologies of the uterus and uterine cavity, which do not make it possible to implant an embryo, ovarian tumors, inflammatory processes in the body, mental illness, the absence of one’s own children or a history of hereditary diseases.

Diagnoses for which a surrogate mother is needed include:

Legislation of different countries on surrogate motherhood

A complete ban on surrogacy exists in the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway), as well as in France, Germany, Austria, and certain US states. Non-commercial surrogacy is allowed in the state of Victoria (Australia), Great Britain, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands, Canada.

In these countries, it is forbidden to advertise services of this type, and there is no selection of candidates for surrogate mothers. There are no clear laws regarding such reproductive technology as surrogate motherhood in Greece, Belgium, Spain, Finland, however, it is not prohibited.

Altruistic surrogacy, when a woman does not receive material remuneration, and commercial surrogacy, in which a contract is concluded with a surrogate mother, and her services are paid for by future parents, are allowed at the legislative level in Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, many states of North America, and South Africa.