Ukraine na global surrogacy hub - but e fit dey about to end

Karina dey six months pregnant, but di baby wey dey inside her belle no be her own.

Dis 22-year-old from Eastern Ukraine na surrogate mother, meaning say she carry belle for one Chinese couple wey use dia egg and sperm make di baby.

Wen Karina dey 17-years-old, war scatter her house wen her city, Bakhmut, turn to one of di toughest battlegrounds during beginning part of Russia full invasion.

As plenty part of di city don turn to dust and ashes, she and her man move go Kyiv, but dem struggle to find work wey dey bring money steady.

One day, Karina dey one shop, she barely get money wey go buy bread and pampers for her one-and-half-year-old daughter, na dat time she decide say she wan turn to surrogate mother wey dem dey pay.

She tok say she for no be surrogate if no be for di war, wey make millions of pipo lose work and business, make price of tins high, and make Ukraine economy fall yakata.

"At first, to be surrogate make me vex and dey dissapointed, but now I don just accept am," na wetin Karina Tarasenko tok. She dey live for outside Kyiv for one apartment wey her surrogacy clinic give her. She dey carry belle for girl pikin.

She go collect £12,500 ($17,000), wey be like two times di average salary for Ukraine, but she go collect most of di money after she born.

Dem suppose pay Karina £15,500 ($21,000), but wen one of di twins wey she dey carry die, dem cut her money, as e dey inside di agreement wey she sign.

Even wit her doubt for beginning, Karina dey plan to born as many surrogate babies as her body go allow, so she fit save money buy house.

But dem fit soon collect di decision from her hand.

Before di war, Ukraine dey popular as di second biggest place for commercial surrogacy after United States.

Even though di wahala don shake di surrogacy matter, dem don almost come back to di level wey e be before di war, na so experts tell BBC World Service.

But now, Ukraine parliament dey consider new law wey go tighten di oversight of di surrogacy industry and fit block foreign people wey dey make up 95% of intending parents.

Di proposals get plenty support for parliament across di country. Di new bill wan regulate di industry well because dem don dey accuse am of turning birth into business and dey exploit poor women wey dey vulnerable.

Supporters of di bill talk say Ukrainian women no suppose dey carry surrogate babies for foreign people as birth rate don drop sharply because of di war, even as di number of babies wey dem born through surrogacy na small part of di total births.

"Sake of di war, di number of women wey dey desperate don dey rise, and clinics dey offer dem dis chance because western couples wan buy babies cheap," na wetin Maria Dmytrieva, wey be women rights activist wey dey against all surrogacy for ethical reasons, talk.

She believe say dem suppose ban di practice completely for Ukraine. She talk say surrogacy clinics dey target poor women openly, as she point to social media advert.

One advert wey AI generate for January dis year, wey one clinic post to find new surrogates, show one woman wey dey choose between buying wood to heat her stove or clothes for her pikin, dey appeal to di hardship wey plenty Ukrainians don face during di war.

For anoda advert campaign for 2021, from Ukraine biggest surrogacy clinic, BioTexCom Centre for Human Reproduction, e dey promote "Black Friday sale" on surrogate babies. Wen BBC ask dem if dis adverts fit be seen as offensive, BioTexCom defend am, talk say dem dey effective for bringing attention to surrogacy.

Di clinic don dey face plenty wahala unto how dem dey operate. For 2018, di prosecutor office start investigation for di clinic boss, Albert Tochilovsky, and two other former staff, unto say dem suspect say dem dey involve for criminal stuff like human trafficking.

E tok say di pre-trial investigation don dey suspended so dem fit do 'international co-operation' to use gather information from abroad.

BioTexCom and Tochilovsky dey claim say dem always dey follow di law and 'totally deny di allegations'.

Di prosecutor no give details about di trafficking matter but BioTexCom tell BBC say na about DNA mismatch between some parents and one baby.

Di clinic tok say dia staff no fit carry di blame and dem 'believe say di issue happen during di sperm collection' wey happen for anoda kontri.

Di company tok say dem dey help people fulfill dia dreams to become parents, give women chance to make legal money and provide dem with medical care, accommodation, and food.

Karina bin first reach out to BioTexCom to be surrogate but she no go ahead with di clinic unto say she feel dem treat her badly during di first appointments dem bin make.

Children dem leave behind

Cases dey wia dem abandon pikin afta dem born am, unto say di parents change dia mind.

For Ukraine, di parent wey plan to take care of di pikin go dey responsible after dem born am, and e dey illegal to abandon pikin for any reason.

But as e be, to enforce dis law across borders fit dey difficult.

Wei, wey don reach five years now, suffer serious brain damage after dem born am premature for 2021.

Dem arrange him surrogacy through BioTexCom. E dey stay for one home wey govment dey run for disabled children for Kyiv.

Wen BBC visit dia, Wei dey enjoy mashed banana with im friends for di home. Dem dey sit together for every meal.

Wei no fit sit by imself, hold him head, or see well, him go need care 24/7 for di rest of im life.

After dem hear about him condition, di parents wey suppose take am from one kontri for South East Asia decide say dem no go collect am. Dem just disappear, and all di tries from authorities and BioTexCom to reach dem no work.

Wei's surrogate mama no want am either, and according to Ukrainian law, she no get any legal responsibility for am.

Valeria Soruchan wey dey work for Ukraine Health Ministry, wey follow dey push for change of di law, tok say plenty children wey dey born through surrogacy dey on dia own without home, even though government no dey keep correct numbers for dis matter.

She no dey against surrogacy for principle, but she dey criticize how e dey run for Ukraine, and she support make foreign people no fit access am.

BioTexCom CEO Tochilovsky tok say wetin happen na 'tragedy', e say wen parents abandon pikin, 'we dey consider am our responsibility'.

Wen pikin dey abandoned, clinics no get any law wey go make dem contribute money to support dem for state-run homes wey dey collect public and private funds, and BioTexCom no dey contribute anything to Wei case.

E no easy to find family wey go gree to accept and adopt pikin wey get disabilities like Wei. Fifteen families don check Wei's file but nobody show interest to adopt am.

'Dem don make us family'

But some pipo dey tok say commercial surrogacy fit benefit evribody.

For five years, Himatraj and Rajvir Bajwa wey dey London try to get belle, dem no fit, even after two IVF tries, before dem decide to follow surrogacy.

Rajvir, 38, get serious endometriosis, wey make am hard to get belle. She still get multiple sclerosis. Dem no wan use UK, unto say for dia, na only altruistic surrogacy dey allowed, wey mean say the woman no go get money reward but dem fit give am expenses.

For UK, surrogacy dey more informal, most times na friends, family, or non-profit wey dey match intended parents wit surrogates.

For UK law, di surrogate dey responsible for di pikin until dem make parental order, wey go transfer legal responsibility from dem to di intended parents.

Himatraj and Rajvir dey worry say dem no go get immediate legal rights over di baby.

Some altruistic surrogates don change dia mind before about giving up babies, but dat pain cases dey rare.

Di couple like how dem organize surrogacy for Ukraine, and di cost of surrogacy for dia na another factor.

Dem use BioTexCom last year and pay around £65,000 ($87,770) - e dey far less dan dat for United States, wia surrogacy fit pass £110,000 ($150,000).

Di couple dey happy onto how dia wake wit BioTexCom talk go.

Dem use IVF create embryo for London, wey dem ship go Kyiv and store am for di clinic cryogenic storage tanks.

For June last year, dem land for Kyiv for di birth of dia baby. But because e take time for UK authorities to finish di paperwork wey dey needed and give dia pikin passport, dem spend di first three months for Kyiv, dey go in and out of bomb shelter as Russia dey bomb di city.

"E dey scary and surreal," na wetin Rajvir tok.

Dem return to England wit their son for late August. For June, dem go celebrate dia son first birthday.

Di couple oppose di Ukrainian bill, dey reason say di surrogacy agency wey dem use bring dem "joy and happiness".

"Dem give us wetin we no ever think say go happen - dem don make us family," ns so Himatraj, 37, tok.

Himatraj and him wife wan meet dia surrogate, and wen dem meet, dem carry chocolates and flowers give her.

Dem tok say dem no believe say she don dey exploited.

"E don dey clear say na dem choice and e be means for dem. And if na wetin go help dem, at di end of di day, I sure say everybody go dey happy with di result."

'No-one dey force us'

Karina no gree say commercial surrogacy dey exploit pipo. "Nobody dey force us. Na my body, my decision... I go collect my reward for giving dem happiness."

She no support di law change, say e go "scatter" her plans to buy house. She dey look her belle, she add: "I sabi say dis no be my pikin, but I love her. I dey tok to her. Wen she dey kick, I dey tell am say hin parents dey wait for am. "I just dey hope say she go get better life."

Additional reporting by: Fay Nurse, BBC World Service and Victoria Prisedskaya, BBC News Ukrainian