Introduction

GEORGIA: LOW BUDGET, HIGH QUALITY

In Georgia, there is no specific law or statute that solely regulates assisted reproductive technologies (“ART”) or any of its methods, including surrogacy. The basic rules relating to surrogacy and ART in general are described in Articles 141, 143 and 144 of the Law of Georgia on Health Care.
Only heterosexual couples can submit an application, but the law does not require a genetic connection with at least one of the parents nor does it require that the couple be legally married. Therefore, single couples can also apply.

Gestational Surrogacy

As a result of the analysis of the regulations provided in the laws of Georgia, it can be concluded that In Vitro Fertilization can be performed in the following ways: In vitro fertilization with the use of gametes or embryos from couples or donors, fertilization with donor sperm, in vitro fertilization with the use of a surrogate and the use of frozen gametes or embryos during in vitro fertilization.
According to this wording, for surrogacy to be performed, in addition to obtaining written consent from the couple (prospective parents), the law requires the absence of the maternal uterus as a precondition for initiating such a procedure. This is considered a disadvantage of the law in practice, which is interpreted as requiring a medically determined health status of the prospective mother, proving that she does not have the capacity to conceive and give birth to the child, in other words, medically proven surrogacy necessity.
Despite the fact that the law does not directly refer to the permitted forms of surrogacy, it is interpreted as allowing gestational surrogacy (when the surrogate mother is only a gestational carrier and does not provide her own oocyte for fertilization) and prohibits traditional surrogacy (where the surrogate mother has a genetic link with the child).
Furthermore, the law does not directly require that the child born as a result of surrogacy have a genetic connection with at least one of the parents nor does it directly establish such availability. However, such a possibility can be determined indirectly in accordance with the rules established by the Order of the Minister of Justice on the establishment of the Rule on the registration of civil acts, adopted on January 1, 2012 (Article 19) (hereinafter the “Civil Acts Registration Rule”). Article 19 of the Civil Acts Registration Rule determines the rule for registering the birth of a child born as a result of surrogacy agreements and determines the required documents to be presented to the Civil Registry for the issuance of a birth certificate showing the prospective parents as legal parents of the child.
Despite the fact that the Order refers to the birth registration procedure, in consideration of its provisions, it can be concluded that even if both the oocyte donor and the sperm donor have been involved in the in vitro fertilization procedure and the resulting embryo has been transferred to the surrogate mother (gestational carrier), the prospective parents who do not have a genetic link with the child will be considered the legal parents of the child (provided that all documents are presented to the registry in the required form and manner).
No references are made to the form of surrogacy, in other words, there are no direct regulations on whether commercial surrogacy is permitted or only altruistic surrogacy is allowed. Consequently, there are no prohibitions regarding payments to be made to the surrogate mother or other restrictions regarding the activities of intermediary agencies. Regarding the requirements for medical institutions with respect to performing in vitro fertilization, medical institutions are required to obtain informed written consent from patients before beginning such a procedure.
Furthermore, the child born as a result of a surrogacy arrangement in Georgia cannot leave Georgia if the child’s birth certificate does not determine both legal parents of the child, even if the child has a foreign passport.

Action Protocols

1) “Georgia IVF Own material”.

This alternative is for heterosexual couples who wish to perform IVF with their own genetic material + embryo transfer to a Georgian surrogate gestational carrier in a Tbilisi Clinic + pregnancy and delivery in Georgia.

2) “Georgia IVF Egg Donation”

This alternative is for heterosexual couples who wish to perform IVF with their own sperm + Georgian egg donor selected by photo + embryo transfer to a Georgian surrogate gestational carrier at the Tbilisi Clinic + pregnancy and delivery in Georgia.

3) “Georgia Frozen Embryos”

This alternative is for heterosexual couples who already have vitrified embryos at their local clinic and wish to send them to Georgia to perform the transfer at the Tbilisi clinic to a Georgian surrogate gestational carrier + pregnancy and delivery in Georgia.

4) “Georgia Egg + Sperm Donation” (no genetic connection with the couple)

This alternative is for heterosexual couples who wish to perform IVF without genetic connection with the couple + embryo transfer resulting from double donation to a Georgian surrogate gestational carrier at the Tbilisi Clinic + pregnancy and delivery in Georgia.