Our first flight to Kiev was hectic. First of all, we
hardly were on time for flight check in. Martin was to set off just after his
business meeting. It took him longer than he expected so I thought we’d be
late. We were the last ones to check in. My nervousness doubled. This time I
was afraid the representative of clinic won’t meet us at the airport because we
landed almost at midnight. Still they did. We made appointments with three
clinics in Kiev. Biotexcom clinic, the first one we visited, offered us free airport
pickup and accommodation. It made our journey less stressful as everything was
planned for us. They took care about everything. The next day, their driver
waited us at the set time near our hotel to take us to the clinic. So, Biotexcom
was the first one on our itinerary. First impression: located not far from the
city center, small separate building that looks like a fairy take castle, not a
hint of hi-tech style.
It’s located on a picturesque hill with beautiful views
on the city. Interiors are very simple and plain. The clinic’s hall was crowded
and some people even had no place to have a seat. We were met by our English
speaking manager Anastasia. She was very busy, though, since we were not the
only one couple with her that day. She invited us to a separate room with comfy
upholstered chairs. She answered all our questions and we had a lot. She
explained the peculiarities of each surrogacy package. They have three major
packages. I’ll get it in more details the next time, if you don’t mind. Today I
would like to share my general impression on the city and reproductive clinics
we visited.
Ok, we thanked Anastasia for taking time and
explaining everything to us. We told her that we were going to visit two other
clinics. She didn’t mind and even helped us to get a cab. Our next destination
was Ilaya clinic. It took us around 20 minutes to get there by car. As far as I
understood, it’s located in the suburbs of Kiev. First impression was very
good. Interiors are luxurious, hi-tech and seem to be very expensive. Equipment
and furniture is brand new. There’re a lot of places where you can have a seat,
watch TV or read a magazine (as I’ve told you already, in the first clinic
having a seat was a problem as they have only one sofa for all the clients).
Unlike Biotexcom and despite of all its glory, Ilaya
seemed to be deserted. The only patients I saw there were locals, no Europeans
or other foreigners met. We saw a local lady (obviously patient) who was
definitely not happy with something so they had rows with some lady from
admiration. The reception girl we were talking to was not very good in English
so it took them time to understand what we want. However, they invited us to a
small room in white-green colors and offered some tea with biscuits. That was
nice because we were already very hungry (they took our blood samples in the
first clinic). Our manager came in around 10 minutes. It was a young and very
beautiful lady. She told about all advantages of the clinic however the
information on the fees was quite obscure. I don’t like it actually. To sum up,
Ilaya also provides foreign patients with accommodation and translator. The
minimum cost of surrogacy there is around 40k euro and is not final. All meds
and possible risks like premature birth are not covered by your contract. We
had to figure this out, but still there was one more clinic on our agenda. We
took all those brochures and papers from Ilaya and asked them where we can have
a lunch. They advised us Ukrainian food restaurant and even booked a table for
us. Oh, I love this country for it. They all seem very responsive.
The restaurant was very cozy and service was quick.
However, as to the food actually - Ukrainian food seemed too greasy for me.
IMO. Coffee was great, though. The prices are minor if compared to our
Norwegian ones. The same with taxi and public transport. 10-15 minutes taxi ride
costs around 3 euro. Our restaurant lunch bill was around 10 euro. Street food
is also everywhere, so you can have a bite any time.
In restaurants, some staff speaks English and they even have their menu in English. It came as a surprise for me.
Ok, now about Victoria clinic, our last destination.
It’s located in the historical part of the city. We were astonished by
architecture. In the meantime, history is combined with modern streams. The
clinic seemed rather small to me. Interiors and equipment seemed to be not
brand new like in Ilaya still quite normal.
We were kindly met and immediately invited to a meeting room with coffee
and biscuits again. The manager spoke English very well. She was not very
talkative, though. The key thing for me about this clinic was that they take
care only of medical part of surrogacy program. No legal service provided, as
well as they won’t help you get official papers for the baby when he or she is
born. It’s not their business. Should we have run such risk? No.
