We are Olivier and Stéphanie, and we’ve been a couple for 18 years.
Our journey started some time go as we always knew that I couldn’t have children, so we first tried to adopt but without success.
But it was inconceivable for us to stop there, so we started to investigate surrogacy. We talked a lot about the US and Canada, but the prices were completely out of our reach and the option of Ukraine was quickly taken into consideration. We did spend a lot of time looking for the right agency but we never lost sight of what this was about – having a baby.
When we had a consultation with Hélène, and she told us about her background, and how she and her team had helped couples whose agency had filed for bankruptcy to complete their project, so it was clear from the start that these were people who do not let you down at the first sign of trouble.
This certainly rang true when the war started in Ukraine 1.5 months before our daughter was born. Tatiana, our surrogate who was in Kyiv, was quickly moved to safety in Lviv, an apartment was found for her and contact was made with the clinic there for the delivery. It was a bit scary for everyone but the girls from the agency always remained available despite the chaos!
As the birth approached, Alena came specially to Lviv in person to help us with the formalities, we arrived in Lviv on March 22, 2022, and our Salomé was born the same day, it was like she was waiting for us! Alena took care of all the logistics, from the administration to the delivery of the pizzas, without forgetting to play the paparazzi to send us lots of photos of our family 🙂
Despite these circumstances, we were incredibly lucky: we were able to meet our daughter and do all the necessary paperwork before returning to France. Many couples had to manage on their own to find a local lawyer, translators etc but for us, it was really easy, everything was organised for us.
Today we remain in contact with Tatiana who was able to take shelter in Austria with friends, but her husband remains in Ukraine. We hope they can be together again very soon.
S&O, France
A journey in Ukraine
