LeaderMed – My Personal Review
Behind IVF Clinic Doors: My Visit to LeaderMed, Georgia
Georgia is not always the first country that comes to mind when thinking about fertility treatment. But it probably should be. It is one of the few countries in the world where commercial surrogacy is legal and where intended parents have clear legal recognition, making it a meaningful destination for those exploring all paths to parenthood. And LeaderMed, based in Tbilisi, is a very good reason to look closely at what Georgia has to offer.
About the clinic
LeaderMed’s history in reproductive medicine goes back to 2012, when it was founded as the “In Vitro” Clinic for IVF, Human Reproductive Health and Artificial Insemination. The team behind it was already making history: the first IVF baby ever born in Georgia and the entire Caucasus region came through this clinic. That is not a small footnote. That is a legacy.
In 2021 the clinic rebranded as LeaderMed and expanded into a modern, multidisciplinary medical centre equipped with the latest technology. Today it holds TEMOS International certification and is led by founder Prof. Natalia Khonelidze, with a team of eight fertility specialists and three senior embryologists, each with over 25 years of experience.
Surrogacy at LeaderMed
Surrogacy is a central part of what LeaderMed does, and the way they approach it says a great deal about who they are as a clinic.
LeaderMed performs gestational surrogacy, which means the surrogate mother carries the pregnancy but has no genetic connection to the child. The embryo is created through IVF using eggs from the intended mother or a donor and sperm from the intended father or donor. For intended parents, this distinction matters.
What stands out about LeaderMed’s approach is that the surrogate’s wellbeing is placed at the centre of the whole process, not as an afterthought. Every surrogate candidate undergoes a thorough medical evaluation before entering the programme, covering everything from gynaecological health and reproductive history to ultrasound assessment and laboratory testing. Only those who meet strict medical criteria are accepted.
Psychological support is treated with the same seriousness. Every candidate is assessed to ensure she fully understands the process and feels genuinely comfortable with her decision. That support continues throughout the entire journey, not just at the start.
Communication is handled with equal care. When needed, coordinators and interpreters work with surrogate mothers in their native language so that nothing is lost, and no question goes unanswered. Informed consent is not a formality here. It is a genuine commitment.
On the legal side, all surrogacy arrangements are governed by formal agreements under Georgian law, clearly defining the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved: the surrogate, the intended parents, and the future child.
It is an approach built on a simple but important idea: ethical surrogacy is only possible when medical excellence, transparency, and respect for every person in the process go hand in hand.
Arrival at the clinic
The building is large, recent and immediately makes an impression. Inside, everything feels calm and considered, the kind of space where you can tell genuine thought has gone into the patient experience. There is a pharmacy on site, and coffee and snack machines available, small details, but the kind that tells you this is a place that has thought about what it feels like to spend time here, not just what happens in the consultation room.
The consultations
My first point of contact was Mariam Tamarashvili, IVF Patient Care Coordinator, and she set the tone for the whole visit. Lovely, patient, genuinely kind, she is exactly the kind of person you want on the other end of the line when you have questions or worries. You leave the interaction feeling like you have someone in your corner.
I then met Prof. Ludmila Barbakadze, Reproductive Specialist and Obstetrician-Gynaecologist. She is calm, attentive, and a very good listener. She gave me the space to explain everything I needed to, took it all in without hurrying, and then walked me through the next steps clearly. She also performed an ultrasound during the consultation and took the time to talk me through what she was seeing. That level of care in a first visit is not something you take for granted.
But the meeting that stayed with me most was with Prof. Natalia Khonelidze, the founder of LeaderMed. She is remarkable. When she speaks about the first IVF baby born in Georgia, her eyes light up, and you can see that she is still moved by it. After all these years, after everything this clinic has achieved, that moment still means something to her. That is not something you can perform. It comes from someone who is completely, selflessly devoted to what they do and to the people they do it for.
The lab
The lab visit was led by Dr. Laliko Kharabadze, Lead Clinical Embryologist, and from the very first moment it was clear how much she loves this work. There is a particular kind of trust that comes from watching someone speak about their field with genuine passion, and Dr. Laliko has it in abundance. The lab itself is recent, well equipped and full of technology, a space that reflects the same investment in quality you feel throughout the rest of the clinic.
Final thoughts
What surprised me most about LeaderMed was not the credentials, impressive as they are. It was how human the whole experience felt.
From the moment I arrived to the moment I left, I did not feel like a patient moving through a system. I felt like part of the family. The kindness, the patience, the care in every interaction, it was consistent and it was real. And it is rare.
LeaderMed is for the patient who does not want to choose between a clinic with serious credentials and one with a genuinely human, thoughtful team. It is for someone who wants to feel held as well as treated, guided as well as informed, and who finds real reassurance in knowing that the people caring for them are still moved by what they do.
And if you would like to see all of that in person, you can watch the full episode.
