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Tuesday, 10 July 2018 17:36

Confidence and Transparency In Surrogacy

The UK -- not the US, sorry -- has a very thoughtful and vocal stance on surrogacy.

By ELLEN TRACHMAN

Last month, the government issued thoughtful guidance on best practices for citizens considering entering into a surrogacy arrangement. Our government? No, no, sorry for any confusion. I am talking about the United Kingdom. The United States continues to maintain a patchwork of (mostly positive) surrogacy laws, or in many cases, no law at all. But the UK’s government, and more specifically, the Department of Health and Social Care, recently issued official guidance for intended parents and surrogates entering into surrogacy arrangements in England and Wales.

Tell Your Kids.

The guidance outlines provisions of existing law. These include things like how to secure the intended parents’ rights after the birth of the child or (2) that UK intended parents currently need to be married or living together as a couple (although hopefully not for long) to apply for a post-birth parentage order. But the guidance doesn’t just stop with existing laws. It goes further, noting that “research suggests that openness, confidence and transparency about a child’s origins from an early age (pre-school) is the best way to talk to children about their identity and origins.”

Yes! And that may even sound familiar! Because in the egg and sperm donor context, prominent figures in the assisted reproductive technology world, such as the Wendy Kramer, the founder of the Donor Sibling Registry, have been preaching in favor of this mentality for decades. Unfortunately, one prevalent norm in American culture is to obscure the origins of children who do not come into a family born the old-fashioned way, whether that be by adoption or through assisted reproductive technology.

Even today, many intended parents enter into “anonymous” sperm or egg donation arrangements. The idea is that the identity of the gamete providing-donor will always remain a secret to the intended parents, and to the ultimately conceived children. But Kramer, among others, believes that true anonymity is no longer possible. With very little work — a home DNA test and the internet — people who were born from donor material connect with their biological relatives, regardless of the original intent of their parents or donor. But the UK has short-circuited the process of finding one’s parents and is one of a handful of countries that requires by law that the identity of an egg or sperm donor be available to their donation-conceived children.

Acknowledgement and Support — Kind Of.
Perhaps even more notable than the guidance’s stance on disclosure, is the general position that the “government supports surrogacy as part of the range of assisted conception options.” That’s huge! For a government to announce its support for these arrangements is incredibly helpful to those needing to turn to the surrogacy option, and not feel like they need to hide the arrangement. Yay, one big leap toward removing the stigma!

Of course, UK law still contains many less-than-supportive measures. It is still a criminal offense to advertise that you are looking for a surrogate, or willing to act as a surrogate, even out of altruism. It is also a criminal offense for third parties to advertise that they facilitate surrogacy (with exceptions for certain non-profits) or to negotiate the terms of a surrogacy agreement. That law even applies to attorneys!

Compensation Still A No Go. 

The UK continues to look skeptically at compensating a surrogate beyond the reimbursement of “reasonable expenses” (a family court must consider whether there have been such payments and exercise its discretion to authorize them retrospectively).  So while there isn’t a “ban” per se preventing a UK surrogate from receiving compensation beyond her maternity clothes and lost wages, compensation for UK surrogates may be below the significant figures that American surrogates in most states enjoy. All payments made to or on behalf of the surrogate must be disclosed to the UK court when obtaining a post-birth parentage order.

Paid Leave!

On the other hand, as a working mom, I am drooling over the UK’s parental leave policies. Intended parents can receive up to 52 weeks off from work!  The statutory minimum maternity leave is 90% of salary for six weeks, UK lawyer Natalie Gamble explained to me, and then a flat rate (approximately £200 per week) for the next six months.  Some employers enhance this, for example to full or half pay, for six months or a year. I don’t know how smart that is from an economics standpoint (says the jealous American), but from a surrogate’s perspective, that alone may be much more valuable than the compensation American surrogates receive!

Despite some of the stark differences between our countries on surrogacy, I offer strong kudos to the UK for its thoughtful and vocal stance on surrogacy, and for producing an informative document to assist all its citizens walking this path in the dreams of a child.

Learn more about Ukrainian and International Surrogacy

Delivering Dreams International Surrogacy Agency helps couples throughout the US struggling with infertility have children. Located in the state of New Jersey and Kyiv, Ukraine, our amazing medical facilities and professionals, surrogates and donors are in Ukraine, because Ukrainian law protects the rights of parents and their children from inception at affordable costs and high success rates.

Unique to Delivering Dreams, we offer guaranteed not to exceed, all-inclusive pricing and contracts under US law to provide prospective parents legal and financial security.

1 in 6 couples are struggling with infertility. You are not alone. We want to be your path to parenthood.

Would you like to learn more? Please contact us to share your challenges, ask questions and discuss solutions. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.international-surrogacy.com, 1.908.386.3864.

International surrogacy made simple!

Our upcoming book, “Successful Surrogacy: Your Guide to Realizing Your Dreams of Parenthood Through Ukrainian Surrogacy” reveals the process, details and answers to empower you to start your Ukrainian Surrogacy Journey and ensure it will be an affordable, secure and happy experience.

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Testimonials

I am very satisfied with the medical services. Coordinator Lyubov was always in touch, answered any questions quickly and clearly, and helped in any difficult situations. The level of personal support and genuine concern for my health and well-being was 100 percent. I am very pleased that I am going through the surrogacy program with this agency. I feel protected and confident. I really like the attitude of the agency, timely payments, and the curator and manager make sure that pregnant girl...
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Olga T.
I am very pleased to meet such beautiful and kind people Hello everyone, I'm Myroslava and I'm going through my SM program at the Delivering Dreams agency. I want to express a big thank you to the girls who cooperate with me, who worry about my condition, who are always in touch, and who always support me - Omelchuk Lyubov and Anna Levchenko. I've already been to a program and therefore I have something to compare it with, this agency and the staff are at the highest level. And also the doct...
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Myroslava
Hallo Oksana,  vielen Dank für Deine ausführliche Erklärung. Wir haben alles gut verstanden. Das zeichnet due Arbeit von Euch und Eurem Ärzteteam aus. So kann man gut vertrauen. Hello Oksana, Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. We understood everything well. This is what distinguishes the work of you and your medical team. This is a good way to trust.
German couple
One of the best teams and my program! Hello! I want to share my experience and my impression of my program, one of the best programs, and the team from the Delivering Dreams Agency! Great attitude, attentive staff, responsible! Always in touch 24/7! Lyubov Omelchuk is a wonderful person, she was with me from the first minute of implantation until the end of the entire program! I am grateful that Lyubov was always with me! People of their word! Staff who never let you down! I highly recommend...
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Anna Priazhnikova
DD is outstanding We have just returned home to California with our beautiful daughter who was born in Lviv. The Delivering Dreams team made our trip so easy and straightforward. From our arrival to Ukraine to our departure, they had everything covered. The constant communication from the team is amazing. All of our paperwork for the embassy was properly prepared and organized. I cannot recommend them enough, we are even thinking about having another baby with DD!
Andrey Frenkel
Thank you very much Dear Oksana, Thank you very much for the great news. We still can't believe it and are totally speechless. The work you do under these difficult conditions cannot be put into words. Thank you very much for that. Liebe Oksana, vielen Dank für die super schöne Neuigkeit. Wir können es noch gar nicht glauben und sind total sprachlos. Was Ihr für eine Arbeit leistet, unter den schweren Bedingungen,  kann man nicht in Worte fassen. Vielen herzlichen Dank dafür.
Couple from Germany
Very friendly, pleasant team I am very grateful to the international surrogacy agency Delivering Dreams for such a short period of experience that dispelled all doubts and the remains of incomprehensible questions that were before and during this program, but I had a wonderful curator Lyuba who did not leave me for a second even on distances?❤️ This is how experienced, pleasant, kind woman you want to go to the program at least immediately after finishing the first one! Very friendly, pleasa...
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Angelina
Thank you for the wonderful experience and the opportunity to help future parents. I also want to thank Lyubov Omelchuk (Delivering Dreams) for her kindness and empathy, she was always in touch throughout the program, especially since the rehabilitation course is based on the supervision and advice of the curator. My worries about the procedure were in vain because everything went perfectly, thanks to the 24/7 support of the curator and qualified doctors Дякую за чудовий досвід, та змогу...
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Angelina
I recommend this agency. I was a surrogate mother in this agency, I really liked everything. The doctors treated me well and explained everything clearly. Curator Lyuba and Anya are always in touch and answer all questions, always supporting. I recommend this agency. Я була сур мама в цьому агентство, мені все дуже сподобалося лікарі гарно відносяться, розповідають все доступно. Куратор Люба і Аня завжди на зв'язку і відповідать на всі запитання, завжди підтримують. Рекомендую це агентство.
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Thank you very much for worrying about me.  I really want to start the program at Delivery Dreams agency. The doctors here are extraordinary. Coordinator Lyubov is also extraordinary, always in touch and worries about me. After the hysteroscopy, Lyubochka is on the phone with me 24/7. Thank you very much for worrying about me. I hope that my program will start soon and I will present the baby to the biological parents. Thank you for being there!?? Я дуже хочу почати програму в агенстві De...
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Nastya

Under Ukrainian law, surrogacy is a legal affordable option for traditionally married couples to have children using their own embryos, or with either an egg or sperm donor. There must be a medical reason you can’t carry a child. You are also able to participate if you have had 4 unsuccessful IVF attempts.

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Under Ukrainian law, surrogacy is a legal affordable option for traditionally married couples to have children using their own embryos, or with either an egg or sperm donor. There must be a medical reason you can’t carry a child. You are also able to participate if you have had 4 unsuccessful IVF attempts.