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VI. Surrogate (Substitute) Motherhood

1. 6.1. The necessary conditions for carrying out surrogate (substitute) motherhood (hereinafter – SM) are:

• the presence of medical indications for SM, provided by item 6.2 of this section;
• documents required for conducting SM, provided by items 6.10, 6.11 of this section;
• the couple (or one of the future parents) for whom SM is carried out must have a genetic link to the child;
• the surrogate mother must not have a direct genetic link to the child. Pregnancy carried by close relatives of the future parents (mother, sister, first cousin, etc.) is allowed.

2. 6.2. Indications for SM are:

• absence of the uterus (congenital or acquired);
• deformation of the cavity or cervix of the uterus due to congenital defects or as a result of surgical interventions, benign tumors, which make it impossible to carry a pregnancy;
• structural-morphological or anatomical changes of the endometrium that lead to the loss of receptivity, adhesions of the uterine cavity, which are untreatable;
• severe somatic diseases, in which carrying a pregnancy threatens the further health or life of the recipient, but do not affect the health of the future child;
• unsuccessful repeated attempts of ART (4 or more times) with the repeated obtaining of high-quality embryos, the transfer of which did not lead to pregnancy.

3. 6.3. The examination of the surrogate mother is carried out on general grounds for ART treatment.

4. 6.4. A surrogate mother can be an adult woman capable of acting, with own healthy child and with the absence of medical contraindications. She must provide a voluntarily written statement of the surrogate mother in the form provided in Appendix 17 to this Order.

5. 6.5. Contraindications for conducting ART by the method of surrogate motherhood and the scope of examination of patients are determined according to Section II and item 3.2 of Section III of this Order.

6. 6.6. The algorithm for conducting ART by the method of surrogate motherhood:

• selection of a surrogate mother;
• synchronization of menstrual cycles of the recipient and the surrogate mother, preparation of embryos/cryoembryos;
• the procedure of transferring the embryo to the uterus of the surrogate mother;
• cryopreservation of unused embryos;
  detection of pregnancy;
• monitoring the course of pregnancy in SM according to item 1.13 of Section I of this Order;
• determination the method of delivery, the place of delivery, the method of feeding the newborn together with the doctor who monitors the pregnant woman;
• childbirth can be partner-based between the recipients and the surrogate mother.

7. 6.8. If the parents of a child born by a surrogate mother are foreigners, they inform about the temporary place of residence until the documents are processed and departure from the country to carry out patronage by pediatric specialists.

8. 6.9. In the case of childbirth by a woman into whose body a human embryo was transferred, conceived by a couple through the use of ART, the state registration of the birth of the child is carried out upon the application of the couple that consented to such a transfer.

9. In this case, along with the document confirming the fact of the child’s birth by this woman, a statement of her consent to record the couple as the parents of the child must be submitted, the authenticity of the signature on which must be certified, as well as a certificate of genetic relationship of the parents (mother or father) with the fetus (appendix 18).

10. 6.10. The list of documents required for the SM from the side of the surrogate mother:

• application of the surrogate mother;
• a copy of the surrogate mother’s passport;
• a copy of the marriage certificate or divorce certificate of the surrogate mother (if applicable);
• a copy of the birth certificate of the child (children);
• the consent of the surrogate mother’s husband for her participation in the surrogacy program according to the form provided in appendix 19 to this Order (if applicable).

11. 6.11. The list of documents required for the SM from the side of the couple:

• application of the patient/patients regarding the use of ART;
• copies of passports;
• a copy of the marriage certificate;
• a notarially certified copy of the written joint contract between the surrogate mother and the couple.