Press Trust of India / Melbourne : Rising number of Australians are turning to India for surrogacy
arrangements to fulfil their parenting dreams, according to a new study.
India is being seen as a preferred destination for commercial
surrogacy, followed by Thailand and the United States, according to the
study by 'Surrogacy Australia', an agency involved in international
surrogacy.
According to Herald Sun, the agency had found there were 200
recorded surrogacy births in India to Australian couples so far this
year, compared to 179 in 2011, 86 in 2010 and 47 in 2009.
The research included Australian government statistics, data collected
from 14 large overseas surrogacy agencies and a survey of 217
Australians.
‘Beautiful and fair’ preferred among surrogate mothers too
Caste and religion are also key factors while renting wombs: study
The Hindu (Beautiful and fair — words traditionally synonymous with brides — are
being used for renting a womb. For, not only are “healthy, beautiful,
fair and higher caste or Brahmin’’ surrogates in great demand, they also
receive good payment in cash and kind from the commissioning parents
after delivery.
Doctors and agents have confirmed — in a study by Sama, a Delhi-based
resource group working on women’s and health issues — that there were
preferred criteria set by the commissioning parents, such as ‘higher
caste,’ Brahmins and a particular religion, often directed by their own
identity. Commissioning parents shower gifts on surrogate mothers for
producing healthy and good-looking babies.
Biological mother, surrogate deliver on same day in Gujarat
AHMEDABAD (Bharat Yagnik, TNN) : The joys of parenthood eluded Yogesh Sharma and his wife
Reena for 14 long years despite trying out the latest medical treatment.
But the pain they suffered was alleviated one fine day. Both Reena and the surrogate
they hired simultaneously became pregnant. On October 12, the couple
got two children as both the mother and the surrogate delivered on the
same day.
"I had only heard of God's generosity, but I
experienced it for the first time when I held my son and daughter,
delivered through two different wombs. This is the most precious gift we
have received", said Sharma, who is in the defence forces and lives in
Delhi. The couple came to Gujarat's Anand to hire a surrogate.
"This is one of the rare cases where both the natural mother and surrogate get pregnant simultaneously. This is the first such double pregnancy and delivery at our centre and the first in India as well," says surrogacy specialist Dr Naina Patel who has made Anand the world's surrogacy capital.
The Sharma couple is seeing this as a miracle. "We had lost hope. I underwent four procedures of artificial insemination and four in vitro fertilization ( IVF) cycles. All these did not result in a pregnancy", says Reena.
The distraught couple decided to adopt. When they applied, the waiting period was two-and-a-half years. As both were nearing 40, they decided to use the waiting period to try out surrogacy instead.
"The embryo was implanted on February 27 and we were overjoyed to hear that the surrogate mother had conceived on March 5. Our happiness knew no bounds when Reena too became pregnant on March 12," says Yogesh.
When the surrogate mother got labour pains on October 12, Reena decided to go for cesarean section so that the children are born on the same day.
(Names of the couple have been withheld to protect heir identity)
"This is one of the rare cases where both the natural mother and surrogate get pregnant simultaneously. This is the first such double pregnancy and delivery at our centre and the first in India as well," says surrogacy specialist Dr Naina Patel who has made Anand the world's surrogacy capital.
The Sharma couple is seeing this as a miracle. "We had lost hope. I underwent four procedures of artificial insemination and four in vitro fertilization ( IVF) cycles. All these did not result in a pregnancy", says Reena.
The distraught couple decided to adopt. When they applied, the waiting period was two-and-a-half years. As both were nearing 40, they decided to use the waiting period to try out surrogacy instead.
"The embryo was implanted on February 27 and we were overjoyed to hear that the surrogate mother had conceived on March 5. Our happiness knew no bounds when Reena too became pregnant on March 12," says Yogesh.
When the surrogate mother got labour pains on October 12, Reena decided to go for cesarean section so that the children are born on the same day.
(Names of the couple have been withheld to protect heir identity)
‘Surrogacy visa’ for foreigners visiting India
Dubai (Xpress-Sharmila Dhal, ) : Foreigners visiting India for surrogacy purposes can only travel on medical visas, the Indian Consulate has said.
“We have so far not received any applications in this category,” a
spokesperson told XPRESS, but added that foreign nationals living in the
UAE can apply for surrogacy visas to India, provided they fulfill other
conditions.
Surrogacy is a form of assisted reproductive treatment (ART) in which a
woman conceives and carries a child for another couple and then
surrenders the newborn child to them.
Every year, an estimated 25,000 children are said to be born to
surrogate mothers who rent their wombs in India. Over half of them are
commissioned by infertile western couples.
The Indian Consulate said tourist visas are issued to foreign couples
for reconnaissance trips as they must produce a duly notarised agreement
between them and the prospective Indian surrogate mother when they
apply for the surrogacy visa, but no samples can be given to any clinic
during the preliminary visit.
Subsequently, it should take a few days before the medical visa is
issued. “Subject to all required documents and mandatory clearances, it
should take five-six working days,” a spokesperson said.
There are many conditions to be fulfilled by the applicants.
The foreign couple must have been married for at least two years.
The foreign couple must have been married for at least two years.
The spokesperson said those seeking a surrogacy visa to India must
verify whether the law of his or her country permits surrogacy and will
provide travel documents to the child to accompany the surrogate
parents.
The treatment can be done only at registered ART clinics recognised by
the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Also before couples leave
India, ‘exit’ permits must be be obtained testifying that the couple
has taken full custody of the child and all liabilities towards the
Indian surrogate mother have been fully discharged.
Surrogacy in TV serials: Is it only for TRP or to spread awareness?
TNN (Neha Maheshwari) : The latest trend to
take tellydom by storm is 'surrogacy'. The small screen has, at regular
intervals, pushed the envelope with steamy hot sequences, lip-locks and
consummation, to recall a few. And these days, there's an overdose of
what is usually considered a hush-hush affair: surrogacy.
Gays become legal parents after Indian mother disappears
London (Deccan Herald) : A gay couple in Britain has won the right to be recognised as
the legal parents of twin boys after the Indian surrogate mother the
couple paid to carry the babies disappeared.
The woman, believed to be from Andhra Pradesh, handed over the boys last year to the two men without giving her formal consent to the handover, the Daily Mail reported.
The daily said the couple arranged to pay a clinic in Hyderabad a sum of 17,000 pounds (around $27,000) to become the children's parents under a commercial surrogacy agreement in 2010.
The woman, believed to be from Andhra Pradesh, handed over the boys last year to the two men without giving her formal consent to the handover, the Daily Mail reported.
The daily said the couple arranged to pay a clinic in Hyderabad a sum of 17,000 pounds (around $27,000) to become the children's parents under a commercial surrogacy agreement in 2010.
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