URA ITURRALDE

Photographer

www.uraiturralde.net

SURROGACY IN TIMES OF WAR

Follow Hire

Location: Tolosa

Nationality: Spanish

Biography: I was born in Tolosa, in the Basque Country in 1979. I worked as graphic designer for a long time until I decided to leave everything behind and devote my life to my real passion: photography. Me and my camera travelled to Southeast Asia... MORE

SURROGACY IN TIMES OF WAR

Ukraine is known to be one of the main destinations in the field of surrogacy. Despite the war, couples from all over the world look for a Ukrainian gestational surrogate to carry their baby. This is, perhaps, because of the cheap rates of the arrangement - which ranges from 40,000€ to 65,000€ - or because of the many years of experience that the country has in this practice. All the clinics and their corresponding agencies have adapted to the difficulties that the war imposes on them, which is why the surrogacy has not ceased. The parents-to-be travel to Kyiv leaving their fears aside, excited to be meet their baby. Only looking at the data of one fertility agency in Kyiv, around 400 couples have managed to become parents through this program in the last 6 months.

Façade of the clini...their pregnancy is going well.

Façade of the clinic of the largest fertility agencies in Kyiv. Two gestational carriers attend their weekly check-up. This is where the corresponding tests will be carried out, in order to make sure that their pregnancy is going well.

Svitlana, a Ukrainian gestatio...er to the couple after labour.

Svitlana, a Ukrainian gestational carrier, has no reservations about claiming that the main reason she decided to become a surrogate is money.
“As in any other job, the main reason why I decided to become a surrogate is money. I am not ashamed to say it, maybe in many places in Europe this is not understood, but here in Ukraine, it is completely legal and normalised. It also makes me happy to be able to give an infertile couple the opportunity to become parents. I'm not doing anything bad; quite the opposite. Similarly, it is very clear for us that we are simply ‘the house’ of a baby that is not ours“.
After labour, the gestational surrogate will not have any legal connection with the baby. As soon as the baby is born, he/she is delivered to the couple.
The parents-to-be will be the ones who decide if they will maintain any type of contact with the gestational carrier.
The requirements to be a gestational surrogate in Ukraine are the following:
- Be of legal age
- Have at least one child of your own
- Be physically and mentally prepared to gestate a baby and to deliver him/her to the couple after labour.

Waiting room of the clinic. Ge...accompanied by their husbands.

Waiting room of the clinic. Gestational surrogates wait here for their turn. Sometimes, they are accompanied by their husbands.

Victoria, like her friend Svit...p;euro;25,000 to carry a baby.

Victoria, like her friend Svitlana, is pregnant and both agree on her claim:
“I, of course, do it for money; it is very well paid and I will be able to provide a better life for my family. I also like to think that I will make a couple, who would have no other chance of conceiving, happy. We are very well treated, we have regular check-ups and we receive all the necessary attention; we are protected - even now, in times of war "
A Ukrainian gestational surrogate charges between €16,000 and €25,000 to carry a baby.

A gestational carrier of twins...s case, she would charge more.

A gestational carrier of twins while the doctor performs a routine ultrasound. The parents-to-be get to choose the gender of the baby; they even have the opportunity to choose if they want twins, as long as the gestational carrier agrees to it. In this case, she would charge more.

Clinic equipment. Freezers for embryos.

A doctor of the hosp...poses in one of the surgeries.

A doctor of the hospital poses in one of the surgeries.

Izaro and Iñaki, a ...nderful experience”.

Izaro and Iñaki, a story with a happy ending. They managed to become parents through surrogacy, in Ukraine. Today they live together with their daughter Maddi, in Tolosa (Basque Country).
“We always dreamed of becoming parents; we had been trying for many years, and we suffered three miscarriages, so two years ago we began thinking about having a baby in another way. We ruled out adoption because it was a very complicated and long process, and finally we opted for surrogacy, a practice that we know is highly controversial. We informed ourselves well before starting the process and we opted to carry this arrangement in Ukraine, given the experience they have in the practice, and the fact that the rates are not exorbitant. We spoke with couples with previous
experience in surrogacy, and went to a fertility agency where we were assured that gestational surrogates are treated well, which was essential for us. In this agency, we chose our gestational carrier Maryna, with whom we hold a wonderful relationship to date, 6 months after the birth of our daughter. The war was a shock, we didn't know what was going to happen, Maryna asked us for permission for her to escape to Poland and, of course, we agreed. We even went to visit her. Months later, in June, our baby was born in Kyiv (Maryna decided so). We had already been living in the Ukrainian capital for a month and a half, waiting for the birth of our daughter. Despite the war and all the difficulties, it was a wonderful experience”.

Portrait of Iñaki a... her who Maryna is”.

Portrait of Iñaki and Izaro in Poland, with gestational carrier Maryna.
“We went to Poland to visit Maryna, we wanted to know if she was okay, if we could help her with anything. It really was an incredible experience to be able to be with her. As a souvenir, we took a photo and bought a stuffed animal for our future baby; today, both are placed in her room, and despite her being very young, we always explain to her who Maryna is”.

A silver necklace co... where she was born".

A silver necklace containing the map of Ukraine and Kyiv marked with a heart. Bika's gift to Izaro and Iñaki so that their daughter never forgets where she was born.
“Bika is a 25-year-old Ukrainian girl who comes to Tolosa (Basque Country) every summer to visit her host family (this was facilitated yearly by an NGO). She came to Tolosa for the first time when she was only 8 years old; today, she speaks Spanish fluently, and holds a degree in Hispanic philology. Bika now resides in Kyiv, in order to be close to her family who lives in Ivankiv, and she has been the one helping us with all the translations. We feel very grateful for the help that she has offered us. On the day of our farewell, she gave us a beautiful silver necklace that contained the map of Kyiv, so that our daughter Maddi never forgets where she was born".