Surrogacy Services in India

Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman agrees to carry a child for another couple or person. In gestational surrogacy arrangement, the surrogate is implanted with an embryo created by in vitro fertilization; the child born to a surrogate is genetically related to the intended parents.

Surrogacy rates are rising in different parts of the world particularly in the countries where commercial surrogacy is allowed to take place. India is one of the countries where thousands of babies born to surrogates on behalf of couples each year. It is estimated that as many as 2,000 children a year are born to surrogate mothers – mostly overseas – before being handed over to foreign couples.

The rapid vast expansion of medical science particularly in the field of assisted reproduction has increased the demand of international surrogacy. The use of eggs, embryos and wombs has made the process easy for couples to choose surrogacy agency. Things are changing for better, faster and with greater choice that make surrogacy unique in the modern families. Right now, however, a combination of factors has led improvements in embryo transfer technology, building more families.

The intended parents seek surrogacy services in India when doctors have declared them infertile or have certain medical issues which make their pregnancy or deliver impossible. That’s why commissioned parents are in need of donor sperm, eggs and embryos that are used in ART services.

Women choose surrogacy for a wide variety of reasons. She receives monetary compensation that helps her to meet their needs. During pregnancy, she receives enough care and support from the doctors and reimbursement of medical and other reasonable expenses. The legality and costs of surrogacy vary from state to state resulted the huge demand from couples around the world to seek surrogacy services in India.

Commercial surrogacy is legal in India. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has set “national guidelines” to regulate surrogacy. Under the guidelines a surrogate needs to a sign a contract with commissioned couple.

ICMR guidelines for surrogacy:

• Surrogacy by assisted conception should normally be considered only for patients for whom it would be physically or medically impossible/ undesirable to carry a baby to term.
• Payments to surrogate mothers should cover all genuine expenses associated with the pregnancy. Documentary evidence of the financial arrangement for surrogacy must be available.
• A prospective surrogate mother agency in India must be tested for HIV and shown to be seronegative for this virus just before embryo transfer. She must also provide a written certificate that (a) she has not had a drug intravenously administered into her through a shared syringe, (b) she has not undergone blood transfusion; and (c) she and her husband (to the best of her/his knowledge) has had no extramarital relationship in the last six months.
• A surrogate mother should not be over 45 years of age. Before accepting a woman as a possible surrogate for a particular couple’s child, the ART clinic must ensure that the woman satisfies all treatable criteria to go through a successful full-term pregnancy.
• No woman may act as a surrogate more than thrice in her lifetime.

Surrogacy Contract

A surrogacy contract plays an important role in the procedure. It gives clarity to both the parties intended parents and surrogate mother and ensures the process takes place smoothly. Some of the essential details mentioned in the surrogacy contract include:

• Consent of surrogate mother for opting surrogacy
• Elaborate details of intended parents and the approval of giving compensation to surrogate mother
• The rights and liabilities of the parties involved in the surrogacy contract
• Promised care to the surrogate mother

Gestational Surrogacy

Gestational surrogacy is now widely used by the couples all over the world who want to have a child, genetically related to them. The embryo is created through IVF procedure by using the father’s sperm and an egg donor which is then transferred into the uterus of the surrogate mother. The resulting child is unrelated to the surrogate. After the eggs have been retrieved from the donor, the role of the egg donor is complete.

Upkaar has played a proactive role for the welfare of surrogates who provide their surrogacy agency for IPs to make their dreams of parenthood come true. Our motto is to care for the surrogates, for their welfare of health and well-being.