IVF and surrogacy tourism in Europe (via Armenia).

Tourist? Medical tourist!

Lastly, medical tourism has become so popular and important direction of tourism, that almost all countries of modern Europe are trying to get into this interesting niche and suggest the best they can in the field of medical services. Stem cell therapies, organ transplantation, cancer treatment, IVF treatment, plastic surgery, and even dentistry are fighting for international clients nowadays. And it is quite understandable because first of all, not all these practices are allowed in the country of the patient’s origin. Secondly, the difference in price for treatment and medications can be perceivable.

All this makes such trips abroad for treatment very attractive for international patients from both an economical and medical point of view. Such trips are frequently associated by patients with their last hope to succeed in their treatment.

We, as a company, that works with International patients with infertility, want to share our experience with the level of medical services, provided in a few popular destinations for IVF treatment and surrogacy.

All information in this article should be considered as our personal opinion, based on our own experience, and cannot be taken by anybody as the absolute truth. But we believe that for somebody who is searching for the best options for treatment, this knowledge could be quite helpful.

Surrogacy in Armenia

Location for European tourists: 6 from 10

IVF and Surrogacy: allowed commercial

Egg Donors: allowed, anonymous

Requirements for couples for Surrogacy: married heterosexual couples and single women using their own oocytes

Transparency of the clinic’s work: 7 from 10

Medical facilities and technology available: 7 from 10

Maternity houses and NICU departments: 8 from 10

Maternal mortality rate: 25 deaths per 100,000 live births          

Children’s mortality rate (infants under-5): 12.4 per 1000 live births

Corruption level: Low to moderate

Epidemiological situation in the country: Average

One more country we want to talk about within the topic is Armenia. Armenia is a small country close to Georgia that has also allowed commercial Surrogacy Armenia for foreigners. At the same time, this destination has become increasingly popular for IVF treatment and surrogacy.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t mean that there are fewer requirements for surrogates. On the contrary, fertility clinics in Armenia are quite strict, and it is very difficult to get approval to be a surrogate mother. Moreover, Armenian legislation has certain restrictions for women who want to become surrogates. For example, their age should be from 18 to 35, or the rule that one woman cannot be a surrogate more than two times.

Parental rights

Egg donation is allowed here, donors may be anonymous and not anonymous. Neither the surrogate mother nor the donor has parental rights over the baby born via surrogacy. The Surrogacy Armenia agreement should be signed with the surrogate mother before the embryo transfer to the Armenian notary. After the baby is born, one more step is needed: DNA testing, which according to Armenian legislation should be done before the baby’s registration.

Usually, it takes from 1 to 2 working days to receive the results of such tests. This will guarantee the genetic link between the baby born via surrogacy and at least one of the Intended Parents and will be a reason for its registration in the civil registry office of Armenia. In case the genetic link is not established, the couple will need to undergo a court hearing, which could take quite a long time here (up to 6 months).

On the other side, if the Consulate of the government of origin of the Intended Parents usually required to undergo a genetic test, such regulation as in Armenia could be useful, because there will be no doubts that the baby is genetically related to at least one of the parents.

Citizenship of the baby

On the contrary to Georgia, Armenia is not ready to grant citizenship to babies born through Surrogacy Armenia. That’s why we strongly recommend you get a consultation from your own country if they will be able to recognize such babies as their citizens and give passports to them to go home through the border.

However, nothing is impossible. The Armenian government is ready to solve this problem on a case-by-case basis, but be aware that it can take from 6 months to one year to make such a decision.

Medical facilities in Armenia do not differ so much from others, for example from Ukraine or Georgia. Although the medical staff here is highly educated and very helpful. We believe that the country is underrated among other IVF/Surrogacy destinations and in the future will only improve its positions.

Contact us by e-mail to know more about surrogacy in Armenia!