A couple from California used the services of a surrogate mother in Ukraine and now can not pick up a child

A California couple who has been trying to conceive a child for 17 years will have to wait a little longer due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But thanks to a surrogate mother in Ukraine, they have what they have been waiting for so long. Writes about it ABC News.

Photo: Shutterstock

56-year-old Yuvaraj and 49-year-old Sarvika Nagendram called their new child “a gift for life,” but the path to adoption was long and it was not over yet.

Spouses from San Leandro, located south of Auckland (California), learned that in early May they finally had a son from a surrogate mother in Ukraine. But travel restrictions prevented them from uniting with the long-awaited child.

Yuvaraj and Sarvika got married in 2007 in Canada. Yuvaraj is a US citizen and software developer. Four years ago, Sarvika, who was diagnosed with uterine fibroids, learned that she could not give birth to a child.

“We went through a lot of treatment, but to no avail,” recalls Yuvaraj. — I saw an article in the BBC about surrogacy. There were many clinics that provide surrogacy. I looked at a lot of agencies."

In June 2018, the couple found an agent in Ukraine who took them to the BioTexCom surrogacy center in Kiev.

“He responded quickly, he was very responsive. So I decided to go to Ukraine,” Yuvaraj said. — When we met, I liked him, he is a very good person. And everyone at the clinic was very kind to us.”

But such a welcome child was not easy. Yuvaraj and Sarvika gave their biological material, but it took three cycles to successfully fertilize.

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“Then we had to wait until birth. Time moved so slowly. We felt terrible,” the couple said.

Finally, on May 5, an agent called and said that the boy was born.

“We were so happy. When we saw the photographs, my wife cried and I sat very quietly,” Yuvaraj said. “At the same time, we were confused. "We wanted to celebrate, but with lockdown we were worried when we'd be able to see him."

They still do not know the exact time of birth.

“Since then we couldn’t sleep, we couldn’t eat,” Yuvaraj admitted.

Then he and Sarvika had to figure out how to pick up their child from the country that is on the map because of the coronavirus pandemic. Ukraine, which has registered more than 17 cases of COVID-000, has banned all international flights.

They were not the only couple who faced such an obstacle.

As of April 30, 46 children born with the help of BioTexCom specialists were waiting for their foreign parents in a Kiev hotel called Venice. In a video posted by the company on YouTube, all newborns are in the same room. A woman who introduced herself as the hotel administrator said that they were cared for 24 hours a day.

“All children are steadily gaining weight,” says pediatrician Tatyana Lisovskaya. “We chose the nutritional formula and dosage individually for each child.”

“We show children to their parents on the Internet, and our managers organize video calls,” says the nurse. “It’s painful to watch parents miss their babies.”

But Yuvaraj and Sarvika have not had a single video call with their child since his birth.

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Yuvaraj tried to book a ticket for various flights to Ukraine, but airlines demanded permission from the Ukrainian government. He turned to the US Embassy in Ukraine, but officials needed a route and a booked flight to allow the trip. In the end, Yuvaraj booked a flight to Minsk (Belarus) on May 16, and is still awaiting permission from the Ukrainian authorities to enter.

Meanwhile, the video with crying newborns caused outrage in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova responded with indignation, saying: “It is necessary to amend the law so that reproductive technologies are provided only to citizens of Ukraine. In Ukraine, children should not be traded. ”

Current Ukrainian laws do not fully regulate surrogacy. Relative freedom made Ukraine a surrogate capital of Europe.

“There is an article that says: “If a child is born from a surrogate mother, his biological parents are considered parents,” said Ukrainian lawyer Sergei Antonov, who specializes in legal advice on reproductive technologies. “We do not discriminate based on nationality—foreign and Ukrainian citizens have the same rights.”

There are about 50 reproductive medicine clinics in the country, and about 40 of them organize surrogacy - providing medical advice, legal advice, logistics and post-birth support. BioTexCom is considered one of the largest in the country and one of the leaders in the field of reproductive medicine in Europe.

Women from 18 to 38 years old can become partners - donate eggs or become a surrogate mother. The center pays surrogate mothers $15 for the first child and $000 for two children, in addition to about $22 for food during pregnancy.

BioTexCom charges parents more than $40—the company has packages of 000 euros ($49) or 900 euros ($54)—for a couple who want to get a child from a surrogate mother in Ukraine, not including travel and accommodation costs. For Yuvaraj and Sarvika, who went through three cycles, it cost much more.

“We spent between $150 and $000,” Yuvaraj said. “Now I look back and think maybe we could have spent a little more, but at least we could have done it here in the US.”

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“Having a surrogate child in Ukraine is much cheaper than in India, Thailand or the United States, so many foreigners prefer to come here,” Antonov said. — When surrogacy began to develop in Ukraine, 15% of clients were foreigners, now there are more than 85%. This is driving the authorities crazy.”

Antonov argued that a large number of foreign clients does not mean that foreigners should be prohibited from having surrogate children in Ukraine.

“We have proposed many changes to the law to protect both children and surrogate mothers,” he said.

After the video of the children became viral, Denisova said that something urgently needed to be done to reunite the children with their parents. On Friday, May 15, Yuvaraj and Sarvika received a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stating that they would be allowed to enter Ukraine to pick up their son.

“We’re thinking of calling him Alan,” Yuvaraj said. “I go to him and feel that I have conquered the world.” We think that people in the world are now paying more attention to death than to birth. We just think it's our destiny."

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