Surrogacy gives birth to twiblings

Radha Sharma (Times of India), AHMEDABAD: Canadian businesswoman from Toronto, Lisa Parker, 38, became a mother of two recently within a gap of just one month! After four miscarriages and four failed invitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, she opted for two surrogate mothers instead of one to improve her chances of becoming a parent as quickly as possible. It worked. Both surrogates delivered what experts call not twins, not siblings - but 'twiblings'.
Lisa is among a growing breed of childless foreigners and NRIs who come to India and employ two surrogates to increase chances of finally having their own child. Lisa chose to come to Anand, often termed the global surrogacy capital. "I am in Anand since February, away from my business and family. I was desperate to become a parent and hence decided to undertake two cycles of treatment every month, apart using two surrogates. My son Rom came first followed by daughter Lee," Lisa, who has her own software firm, told TOI.
Such children are called twiblings since one sperm sample of the husband is split in two and used to make two different embryos. Technically, they would be twins if they were carried in a single womb but since they were carried in different wombs, they are siblings. Surrogacy professionals say twiblings are becoming commonplace as many childless couples do not mind spending more for implanting the embryos in two surrogates to maximize their chances.
In fact, twiblings are the outcome of the pace at which we live our lives these days. Many foreigners and NRIs desperately want a child, but they can't afford to stay back in India for long periods. It is not possible to totally abandon both their careers and their families. "I have used two surrogates each for three couple so far. In one case, the conception happened simultaneously while in another the woman as well as the surrogate became mothers," said Dr Naina Patel from Anand, considered a surrogacy expert.