In Russia, surrogacy legal matters are governed by the Russian Federation’s Family Code and the Federal Law Number 323-FZ “On the fundamentals of protection of the public health” passed in November, 2011, in force since January 1st, 2012 which repeals the law from 1993.

Surrogacy medical issues are governed by Order number 67 of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on the application of assisted reproduction techniques in the treatment of female and male infertility" of February 26th, 2003. In Russia, surrogate mothers may be who have given their voluntary consent to take part in the programme and meet the following requirements: they must be between 20 and 35 years old; they must have a healthy child of their own; they must be mentally and physically healthy. Only gestational surrogacy is allowed.

However, the Russian legislation has been subject to a process of flexibility: although the intended parents were, at first, supposed to be married as established by section 51 paragraph 4.2 of the Family Code, by section 16 paragraph 5 of the Federal Law Number 143-FZ of 1997, on Acts of Civil Status and by the Law number 5487-I of 1993 on the Citizens’ Health Protection in all known cases brought before Courts, the Courts have compelled civil registry authorities to register children born by surrogacy in favour of single persons or unmarried couples, and this has recently been admitted by the new Federal Law Number 323-FZ, on Basics of Health Protection of the Citizens in the Russian Federation, passed in November, 2011, in force since January 1st, 2012 which repeals the Act from 1993.

Once the baby was born, the intended parents must register the baby in the Russian Civil Registry Office. To do so, they must provide a birth certificate issued by the clinic. Since surrogacy is allowed in Russia, both the intended father and mother appear on this certificate. The surrogate mother will not appear on such certificate. In order to register this birth certificate in the Russian Civil Registry Office, we must provide the relinquishment document signed by the surrogate mother.

Only in the case of single men he surrogate mother appears in the birth certificate, although she has already lost her rights over the child.

As in most of the countries, the type of surrogacy that has being carried out in RUSSIA is the Gestational one or total, that one in which the surrogate mother does not provide genetic material, forbidden in most countries where surrogacy is carried out.

The genetic material is either provided by the intended parents or by a donor. When we turn to a donor, this can only be an egg donor since this country lacks a judgement paternity is determined by filiation and the father must prove his biological relationship with the baby. The donor can be either anonymous or chosen.

The donors are usually women between 18 and 26 years old, healthy, so they undergo a strict medical control to ensure their health.