Medical and law aspects of surrogacy in Russia

Dr. Diana Obidniak, MDAffiliated professor at St. Petersburg State

UniversityFertility Specialist,

The Head of the International cooperation department

“AVA-PETER” Clinics

The AVA-Peter Clinic is the oldest private fertility clinic in Russia and has offered its experience and expertise in fertility treatments

both to residents as to foreign patients since 1996.

ISA is the team of the most qualified lawyers with expertise in reproductive medicine and 15-year-experience

Ava-Peter Clinic

Ava-Peter Clinic• In vitro fertilization (IVF-ICSI) – 6900 cycles per year

• Expertise with older women: Every third patient is > 40 years• Strict external audit and internal audit• Own genetic lab

Expertise implemented in routine practice• Individualized controlled ovarian stimulation• Moderate and double stimulation in “embryo banking” cycles• Priming for poor responders• “Freeze-all” cycles• PGD • Donor programs (eggs, sperm, embryos)• Integrated surrogacy programs

• The first surrogacy program in Russia was implemented in 1995 in Saint Petersburg

• The general public opinion is surrogacy-friendly

Surrogacy program

Indications for surrogacy in Russia

• Medical• Social (i.e. single/gay men)

Medical indications

• MRKH• various diseases due to which child bearing is

contraindicated• repeated unsuccessful IVF transfers using high quality

embryos which does not result in pregnancy• deformation of alvus’s cavity or cervix• untreatable Adhesions inside uterine cavity

Who is eligible to be a surrogate?

• Women <35 years old with own healthy baby born naturally

• Full information about her medical background, education is to be provided

Surrogacy is regulated by the Family Code of Russia.

Clause 4 of Art. 51 says: Persons who are married to each other and who have given their consent in written form to the implantation of an embryo in another woman for the purpose of bearing may be entered as parents of the child only with the consent of the woman who gave birth to the child (surrogate mother)

Law features• No adoption nor court decision is required.• The surrogate’s name is never listed on the birth certificate• The surrogate irrevocably loses all rights to the child. • There is no requirement for the child to be genetically related to

at least one of the commissioning parents as in the UK or in Ukraine.

Law features• Children born to heterosexual couples who are not officially

married or single intended parents through gestational surrogacy should be registered in accordance to analogy of jus (art. 5 of the Family Code). A court decision might be needed for that.• Commercial surrogacy is not prohibited

• The law in Russia doesn’t set any age limitation for Intended Parents. All ages are welcome.

In 2015 a 87-years-old woman from Vladivostok became a mother of twins born in surrogacy program. She is considered to be a patient of the most advanced age all over the world, setting the Guinnes record.

No age limitation

Patients infected with HIV, Hepatitis B & C can legally parent a child in Russia through MART incl. surrogacy given the following conditions:•Mininal/ not detectable virus load in blood;• Sperm wash;• Voluntary informed consent of the Surrogate

to participate in a gestational surrogacy program with infected patient (s).

HIV and Hepatitis

• The unique clinic with multidisciplinary teams• offering gynaecology, reproductive medicine,

obstetric services and general medicine practice under one roof

• Allows any obstetric problems to be detected and solved promptly

Choosing AVA-PETER you can be sure in safety

Our results

• In vitro fertilisation (IVF-ICSI) – 6900 cycles per year• Clinical pregnancy rate in conventional program IVF- 54,9%• Each third patient is over 40 years of age• The clinical pregnancy rate in surrogacy program – 70,4%• The clinical pregnancy rate in donor egg + surrogacy program – 78.3%• Close to 17.000 babies were born due to our efforts

As we take on the toughest infertility cases, the effectiveness of assisted reproduction treatments varies depending on the technique chosen and the reproductive prognosis of the

patients. At “AVA-Peter” group techniques such as PGT, egg donation, surrogacy give an accumulated pregnancy rate

of close to 90% over three attempts.

IVF with guarantee

• Donor egg program +PGD of 4 embryos + 3 attempts of embryo transfer to surrogate mother

• If there is no pregnancy after 3 embryo transfers – 50% refund

Don’t waste your embryos• Shipping of embryos/ sperm is available

•Import of cryopreserved gametes and embryos to Russia is legal:• Medical tests translated into Russian or English duly signed and

stamped, verified;• Embryo vitrification protocol;

Acting with honesty, compassion and kindness we do our best to make your way to have healthy baby safe

and quick.

Our mission

Thank you for your attention

Thank you for your attention