Egg Donation in Ukraine

 

For getting pregnant, having healthy eggs is a requirement. However, some women might have problems conceiving with their own eggs. Gamete donation is a useful method that helps many people to achieve their dream of parenthood. Egg donation in Ukraine is a popular fertility treatment, which has attracted many patients to this country.

Egg donation is a part of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) that helps an infertile woman conceive using the donated eggs of a fertile woman who is willing to donate. Egg donation can bring new hopes to couples who have already undertaken different medications but still have not got the desired result, which is having a healthy baby.

The regulation of egg donation varies in different countries. Ukraine has a free regulation in terms of using assisted reproductive technologies including in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg donation, sex selection, and surrogacy. In this paper, FlytoTreat aims to get more into the rules of oocyte donation in Ukraine and the cost of this process.

 

 

Who Needs Donor Eggs in Ukraine?

 

Egg donation is used for women who wish to have a child but due to some reasons they cannot get pregnant using their own eggs. As women get older, especially after the age of 35, egg quality decreases. Another problem is decreasing the number of eggs, which is referred to as “low ovarian reserve”, which could be measured by AMH level in blood test. Therefore, some patients may have poor eggs or poor embryos that do not lead to a successful pregnancy. In some cases, a woman might be born without ovaries. You may need donated eggs due to the below factors:

• Absence of ovaries
• Low ovarian reserve
• Poor-quality eggs
• Premature menopause
• Recurrent unsuccessful IVF cycles
• Taking cancer medication
• The risk of transmitting chromosomal disorders

In addition to married couples who can take advantage of egg donation in Ukraine, single independent women can also use this technology to be able to get pregnant and have their child.

Who can Donate Eggs in Ukraine?

 

In Ukraine, there is a strict regulation regarding screening women who want to donate. Donors should be completely healthy without any specific disease in order to provide healthy high-quality eggs. Fertility clinics in Ukraine carry out a complete medical examination on donors and screen them for possible infectious diseases and chromosomal abnormalities. Donors in Ukraine should have the following criteria to be qualified for donation:

• Proper age (between 18-32 years old)
• History of having at least one healthy child
• Physical and mental health
• Not having chromosomal abnormalities
• Not having bad habits like smoking and alcohol misuse
• Having regular menstrual periods
• Not having a history of inheritable genetic disorders in the family

Before someone donates her eggs, she must undergo a comprehensive examination and present a report on a number of lab tests including karyotype test, gene mutation blood test, biochemistry, TORCH-infections tests (IgG and IgM), STDs (syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B, and C), etc. Furthermore, the donor’s ovaries will be examined to check the ability to produce eggs through blood tests and physical exams. For being aware of possible hereditary diseases, the family history will also be evaluated.

The donor will be asked to have a conversation with a psychologist to ensure she knows all the possible benefits and complications of the procedure and she has a proper motivation for donating her eggs. By performing these tests, we can ensure that only the healthiest donors will get into the donor database and the provided services meet the highest quality standards.

In Ukraine, the identities of both egg donors and recipients are kept confidential. Donor eggs are completely anonymous. There would be no risk of disclosing any information because the oocyte donation procedure in Ukraine is strictly regulated by national laws.

Advantages of Ukrainian Egg Donation Programs

 

Egg donation programs in Ukraine are among the most affordable programs around the world. The ovum donation procedure is safe and convenient and meets the standard quality of the treatment. Ukrainian programs have a number of advantages including:

• Having the chance of choosing an egg donor who looks similar to the recipient and offering comprehensive information about her background such as medical histories, education, occupation, hobbies, etc.
• Donors undergo all the necessary lab tests and examinations by medical experts.
• The prices of ovum donation and all the other side expenses like accommodation and flights are lower than other European and American countries.
• Regulation of egg donation in Ukraine ensures the donors and recipients remain anonymous.

 

Other benefits are:

• The existence of strict laws regarding the donor’s eligibility and the need of being screened through different tests.
• Legal related reproductive services, such as surrogacy and gender selection
• High success rates
• Availability of genetic laboratories for chromosomal evaluation of the oocytes
• Innovative reproductive clinics

Legal Aspects of Egg Donation in Ukraine

 

In Ukraine, oocyte donation is allowed and supported by law either for humanitarian reasons or for receiving compensation. Ova donation is legal and it is regulated by:

• Article 48 of "Fundamental Principles of the Ukrainian Health Legislation"
• Article 123 of "Family Code of Ukraine"
• "Procedure for the use of assisted reproductive technologies in Ukraine", approved on November 1, 2013.

No law has been regulated regarding the number of donations, however, doctors strongly recommend women not to donate more than 6 times in life and more than once every 3 months.

According to regulated law, egg donors can be among close relatives, friends, or anonymous donors who with their written consent donate some of their oocytes to a recipient. In some cases, the written consent of the donor’s husband may also be needed.

In addition to oocyte donation, surrogacy, and sex selection through PGD/PGS are also legal in Ukraine. Surrogacy is needed when a woman does not have a proper uterus to grow the embryo to the full term. So, some couples use egg donation + surrogacy at the same time. They can take advantage of PGD/PGS technology for screening the embryos for chromosomal disorders or selecting the gender of the baby.

Egg Donation Cost in Ukraine

 

The cost of ova donation in Ukraine is about 7000-8000$. This amount includes the cost of fertility medications, donor egg, and the agency fee. This cost is very affordable compared to other European countries; therefore, many clients from other countries travel to Ukraine to use IVF and egg donation services at a reasonable cost and highest quality.

FlytoTreat knows that undergoing fertility treatment and egg donation is mentally demanding and the couples may feel stressed. We are by your side all through the process. Because of our confidentiality policy, we keep our donors’ personal information like their names private. However, a comprehensive profile of the donors including critical information about the donor’s age, height, weight, lifestyle, education, current occupation, medical histories, family history, and other important factors will be provided to the recipients.