These days when some surrogacy agencies in Ukraine offer international genetic material shipment for free or go on tours in different countries with discounts for those attending their talks, we are often asked why we did not choose those large agencies in our second process, which resulted in the birth of our baby girl.
In our first experience, our desire was so strong that only 15 days after a medical forum suggested surrogacy, we were already in Kyiv starting a process at the largest and most advertised surrogacy agency in Ukraine. In those times of very limited information, we saw it as our best alternative.
Our first child was born, and happiness was immense. After a few years, we decided to return to Ukraine to continue growing our family.
This second time, we had our previous experience, which was somehow dissuasive:
Our gestational carrier, after completing the process, confessed that she was not satisfied with the treatment she had received in various aspects.
The handling of gametes was questionable: the center had faced lawsuits and even closure for mishandling embryos. In our case, they had discarded cryopreserved biological material without consulting us.
Although the agency had its own hotels and included accommodation in the second trip, this service did not represent significant savings in the total costs and meant staying in a small room as the only private space for our family.
The waiting times for the appointment of a gestational carrier are crucial for families: in the agency where we had completed our first process, the wait for the standard program could take up to a year (and even more in the current invasion context). To shorten those times, it was necessary to resort to the vip program, which was more expensive than any other program in Ukraine.
In that first opportunity, we were not allowed to witness the birth of our baby or stay with him in the maternity hospital until discharge. We were not informed of the gender of each cryopreserved embryo, and close contact with the gestational carrier was not allowed. To access all these aspects, a vip program was requested, which had a much higher cost than any other surrogacy program in Ukraine.
Having been part of our daughter's birth and having had skin-to-skin contact with her from the very moment of her birth, without separating for a second, I do not hesitate to recommend 100% that priceless experience that I will cherish forever.
From our own experience, we learned that it is not a good idea to seek to save money and miss out on those moments, nor to deprive oneself of a more respectful, personalized, and careful service towards the gestational carrier, all of which are key aspects of the process.
In the long run, choosing the cheapest program seemed like a bad decision considering all that was risked and lost in that saving, which would be insignificant in the long run.
We hope that our experience is constructive for your family dream.
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