Their children will be born soon by the aid of Ukrainian surrogacy, but they cannot come to them: “We are in despair”
Faced with the impossibility of conception, they chose surrogate mothers’ services abroad. Seventeen families from Argentina cannot arrive for delivery and pick up their newborn babies. “Some children will soon turn two months old, and for others the birth date is getting closer”
Natalia Llenort, 44, and Diego Maltese are from San Justo, Buenos Aires Province. They are married since 2006 and dreaming of becoming parents for already 13 years. Having gone through all possible methods of treatment, as well as adoption, 10 months later they decided to become parents of a little girl with the help of surrogacy in Ukraine.
She was overcome with emotions, the news brought back their hope. Tears of happiness, then immediately a contagious smile, hugs, and crying again. After a decade of unsuccessful attempts, in December 2019, Natalia and Diego received the pregnancy confirmation. “We did not know that we could be so happy.”
Emilia Guadalupe may be born in mid-August in Kyiv.
Natalia Llenort, 44, and Diego Maltese are from San Justo, Buenos Aires Province. They are married since 2006 and dreaming of becoming parents for already 13 years. Having gone through all possible methods of treatment, as well as adoption, 10 months later after their last infertility treatment they decided to become parents of a little girl. She went through the stages of hormonal stimulation, various injections… This is not easy, because you do not feel physically well and besides, we were afraid to lose a child, which happened to us in 2016.
Thanks to a very positive story from their friend, the couple got to know about a high-level BioTexCom fertility center, located in Kyiv. They attended a conference in Buenos Aires and Diego looked at me and said: “You will no longer suffer. Let’s try surrogacy”
Since 2015 Kyiv has become one of the most important international centers for surrogacy. Couples from all over the world travel to the capital of Ukraine to find hope. According to the laws of the country, heterosexual couples who are married and who can provide medical information about the impossibility of getting pregnant can join a treatment program. As a necessary requirement at least the father must have a genetic link with the child. Depending on the agency that deals with surrogacy, its price varies from 30,000 to 50,000 dollars.
After birth, the baby has no further contact with the surrogate mother. A few minutes after birth the child is given to the parents and two days later they are discharged, which is now impossible for some people. Due to the closure of borders because of the global self-isolation, today these children are born without the presence of their adoptive parents; for this reason, the children are transported to nursery hotels adapted for childcare and waiting for their parents.
Thanks to their savings and the help of their relatives, Natalya and Diego were able to raise money for a trip to Ukraine. “We gave our genetic material to the clinic in September 2019 and two months later we were told the news.” More than ever we are waiting for our first daughter Emilia Guadalupe to be born in August. But the pandemic broke out, and we did not prepare permission to fly to Ukraine and to pick her up.
Now they had to face a new obstacle in their long-term physical, economic, and emotional struggle. Emilia Guadeloupe, the first daughter in their marriage, can be born over 14 thousand kilometers of distance from her parents. “We don’t have permission to fly to Ukraine because of the pandemic. The date of delivery is expected in mid-August, but delivery may occur earlier, and we must take into account that we will have to undergo preliminary quarantine”.
The couple is experiencing anxiety and suspense. “It was very difficult to achieve this, but we succeeded. This is the 22nd week of pregnancy and we are already preparing a baby’s room. We explode with happiness every time we receive an ultrasound and a medical report, we know that our daughter is doing very well. But on the other hand, we must bear the burden of despair knowing that she could be born alone abroad.
There is even less time left for Melisa Perez Martínez, 37, and Tomás Volgin, 34. Their daughter Nina will be born in 8 weeks, the possible date of birth is June 29. “Our surrogate mother now wears a cervical cerclage to avoid premature birth, but we must also respect and take into account two weeks of self-isolation. “We have already received an invitation letter from the BioTexCom clinic, but we still have not received a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”
Felipe is in the arms of his parents Thomas and Melissa, who had to come to Kyiv four times to realize their dream of becoming parents again.
Felipe is six years old, and he is also very excited about the arrival of his sister. “During the birth of my first son, a nosocomial infection occurred and I was forced to undergo a hysterectomy. I can’t get pregnant without a uterus, that’s obvious. ”
They flew to Kyiv with a stay of 20 days for each of four times to carry out ovarian stimulation and IVF. The fourth transfer was successful. “At first we lost the twins at 8 weeks, then we waited for the transfer and so on until the last time. It’s very scary, especially keeping in mind all that we experienced before. I waited for more than four months to share the news. We could not bear any more disappointments and losses. ”
A letter of invitation from the BioTexCom clinic, before Nina’s inevitable arrival.
They are upset and concerned because, being so close to the arrival of their second daughter, the pandemic violates all their plans. “We are so close to our goal, and this new situation is testing us again. We altogether want to fly up there, because Felipe is very involved in this family project, but if we will be prevented by force majeure, then only one of us will do that. ”
They are not the only Argentine parents experiencing these difficulties. “There are about 17 couples in the same situation, and some of them are already in late pregnancy. There are even three children who were born on March 30, they are already two months old and they are deprived of parental care. “We applied to the Argentine state, asked for permission to leave Argentina, and to use the permission on the appropriate dates.”
The letter
The reply of the Embassy of Ukraine in Argentina
The procedure does not end there. After obtaining permission to leave, they need to obtain permission from the Ukrainian Embassy in Argentina to enter Kyiv. “We are desperate, we have contacted the Embassy many times and we were told that non-residents are prohibited from entering. There are also no airlines that could undertake this route. We need an immediate answer because there is no possibility to fly to Ukraine”
Posted by Camila Hernandez Otaño
May 5, 2020
