Fertility treatment in Ukraine
Country profile

Fertility treatment in Ukraine

The Ukraine has only 19 fertility treatment clinics but is a popular destination for couples from all over the world because of its acceptance of surrogacy, including IVF surrogacy, and for allowing older women to become pregnant as a result of egg donation. Surrogacy and all fertility treatments available in the Ukraine are regulated by the Family and Civil Codes and by the Law on Health Fundamentals of Ukraine, which is a core Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine No 771. These apply equally to Ukrainians and foreign nationals visiting the country as medical tourists.

The law of the Ukraine allows a couple in receipt of a surrogate child to register the child, and to obtain a birth certificate with their names as parents; the biological origins do not have to be disclosed. In fact, the couple who engage the surrogate are regarded, in law, as the parents of the child from the moment it is conceived.

Women who can become surrogate mothers must be health, between 20 and 40 years old and should have had at least one healthy child previously. Sperm, egg and embryo donation are allowed.

Clinic staff usually speak English and Russian as well as Ukrainian.

ISCI

Allowed

Pre implementation generic digonisis

Allowed, regulated by guidelines

Micromanipulation

Not allowed

Assisted hatching

Allowed

IVF surrogacy

Allowed, IVF surrogacy allowed and practised

Average prices for IVF in Ukraine

Costs for treatments vary with individual clinics; the following is a rough guide based on prices quoted in January 2012.

Compare the cost of fertility treatment providers in Ukraine

No featured clinic for the Ukraine.

The healthcare system in Ukraine

The public health system in the Ukraine is in a state of flux, with a new insurance scheme just being introduced. Hospital facilities that are free to residents are variable in quality but private hospitals and clinics have very good facilities. The majority are in major cities, particularly Kiev, and attract the most highly trained doctors and medical staff.

All medical training for doctors is regulated by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and the degree-level courses are run by medical universities that must be accredited by the state and by the UK’s General Medical Council. Fertility specialists have often spent time in other centres in Europe and some of the larger clinics in Kiev were established pre-2000, so have a long-held reputation. Waiting lists are non-existent and although language barriers may exist, you can be assured of careful treatment, often with counselling.

About Ukraine

The Ukraine used to be part of the USSR but is now an independent country situated in Eastern Europe. It shares borders with Russia, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Belarus and lies on the north western tip of the Black Sea. Residents of most countries travelling to the Ukraine for fertility treatment do not need a tourist visa – including those from anywhere in the EU or the USA. International air links are good and most couples fly into the main airport in Kiev, the capital city where most of the fertility clinics are based.

Kiev now has a population in excess of 3 million people and is a modern city bursting with European culture and history. It has a good transport system, with the public Metro operating throughout Kiev. This is an interesting city to explore with many buildings erected during the period just before World War I still in use. These help to boost the growing reputation of the Ukraine as a tourist destination for city breaks as well as for medical tourism.

Some of the main sights include St Sophia’s Cathedral and the Monastery of the Caves, both listed as world heritage sites. The titanium statue of a vast Mother Motherland dominates the banks of the Dnieper River that runs through Kiev, and standards at the entrance to a major museum complex. Kiev has several theatres, opera houses an concert halls, as well as its own film studios and circus. This is a leafy city, with many horse chestnut trees, so can be best appreciated in the summer months, when the trees are in full leaf and the weather is warm. Winter visitors need to be resilient to temperatures that rarely rise above freezing between November and March.

Summer evenings are long and Independence Square in the centre of Kiev is a great place to spend some free time, as its many restaurants and cafes have al fresco dining and the late evening often results in a large open-air party. If you want to stay in self-catering accommodation during your treatment, there is no shortage of western style supermarkets but it would be a shame to miss out on the fabulous farmer’s markets that are held on a daily basis, right in the centre of the city.