Decide on Surrogacy in India
Surrogacy in India is an attractive option for couples who wish to have their names on the birth certificate; want to have a professional or limited relationship with their surrogate, but have the benefit of excellent healthcare. Surrogates in India have no parental rights and cannot change their mind about handing over a child to the intended parents.Surrogacy in India costs US$25,000 to US$35,000
What are the steps to exploring Surrogacy in India?
Steps
- Many couples have pursued surrogacy in India and have been able to have a child with the parents own genetic material, or with the assistance of a donor egg, and the help of an Indian surrogate (There must be a genetic link to one parent).
- Contact surrogacy clinics in India
- Ask questions and investigate. Don't rely on one point of view. Look for a clinic that has experience with working with International clients. Do they have clients who will share their story? Is there a wrap around clinic ( from initial enquiry to going home?).Is there evidence of babies going home with this clinic? Can clients communicate easily with each other? Is your fertility specialist trained in this field? Are there people in India to assist you or are you left to fend for yourself? Use Indian surrogacy forums to get different opinions and viewpoints.
- Review the costs of surrogacy - in India they are typically US$25,000 to US$35,000 . Get a full itemized lists of all costs for both a successful and an unsuccessful attempt. Is there a staggered payment process? What is included in their package? Also ask about additional costs (for instance, neonatal intensive care costs if the baby is born pre-mature) that are not covered by the quotation you receive. Always look at the evidence, is you are being told consistent with what you have read? If you are offered inclusive packages, ask what is not included? How many babies have gone home on these packages?
- Confirm the price of medication & treatment. Often medication and treatment is much cheaper in India. If it is cheaper in India, you may choose to do the entire IVF cycle in India, thereby spending more time in India, but spending less money.
- Be clear on what is a priority for your family? Are you looking at using donor eggs - does the clinic you are reviewing have Indian and Non - Indian donors? Are you sending embryos to India? Can the clinic you are looking at assist you with this? If you are using your own eggs, check out the facilities and make sure that the doctor you have speaking to is the doctor who will be with you and doing your treatment.
- Forward the relevant medical information - At a minimum this will include a sperm analysis & culture and a STD screen as well as a note from your doctor confirming why you are needing to undertake surrogacy. If you are sending embryos, you must be able to show that a STD screen has occurred at the time of conception, if you are using your own eggs, more detailed information will be required from your treating specialist. You'll have to prepay some fees, likely via bank transfer as it is likely that surrogate preparation and or egg donor preparation will happen prior to your arrival.
- Schedule a time to begin your treatment. If you are using your own eggs, it is likely that some of your treatment can occur at home, with egg collection in India. If you are using donor eggs, then your treatment time frame will be guided by when egg collection happens for your egg donor.
- Plan your travel to India - Please be aware that currently to undertake surrogacy in India you must apply for and travel on a Medical visa. If you are using donor eggs, or sending embryos from your home country you will only need to spend 3- 5 day in India. If you are using your own eggs, you will spend 5- 15 days in India.
- Prior to any treatment, on your first meeting with your treating doctor, discuss with the doctor how many embryos you are wanting to transfer. Most reputable clinics will only allow up to four embryos, but this will depend on the quality of the embryos. While this can increases the odds of a successful pregnancy, it also increases the odds of a multiple pregnancy. This is a very personal decision, but be aware that under the current laws gestational surrogates can only carry twins and a higher order pregnancy will result in a foetal reduction.
- On the day of egg collection, if you are using your own eggs, you will have minor surgery. Don't plan on doing much else that day - it is a relatively short procedure that does not require an overnight hospital stay. If you are using donor eggs, you may be required to supply a fresh sperm sample. Your fertility specialist should be able to provide you with a summary of how many eggs were collected; how many eggs fertilized; what embryos developed, the grading of your embryos and what was transferred to your gestational surrogate. You should also be provided with a date for your pregnancy test..
- If you are successful, Congratulations. You should be aware that as with any IVF process, this is a journey, on average it takes most clients up to three attempts to get and stay pregnant. Now you are pregnant, what is your clinics communication strategy? How do they keep in touch with you? What tests are undertaken? When to scans happen? What happens if things go wrong? These are questions that you should know the answers to before proceeding with treatment .
- Picking up your baby. By the time this has happened, you should be aware of what the requirements are for your particular country and embassy to get citizenship and a passport for your baby. For most countries this requires a DNA test to confirm the genetic link to one parent by a DNA service approved by your Embassy. Irrespective of whether you use your own genetic material or donor eggs, both parents names will be on the birth certificate . Your clinic should have someone who is able to walk you though this process. For most countries this process takes between 2- 4 weeks.
Tips
- You must have a medical reason as to why you are undertaking surrogacy.
- You need to keep your travel planning flexible; treatment dates can shift by a couple days based on how quickly your IVF cycle is progressing.
- In planning your travel to India, remember you need to travel on a medical Visa - find the India embassy or consulate to check.
- Most people prefer to work directly with the clinic and get their information first hand.
- A facilitator will be your intermediary between you and the clinic. They will contact the clinic on your behalf and report back form the clinic to you.
- You may or may not choose to work with a medical travel agency, facilitator or agent. All these services come with fees that are paid by you, either directly or through the fees you pay the agency.
- Under the current guidelines, Surrogacy can only be offered to married heterosexual couples.
- A medical tourism agency will refer you to a service, a facilitator will suggest a service that they have a relationship with.
- A medical tourist agency relations ends when they have successfully referred you to a clinic.
Warnings
- The current ART guidelines are in the process of being debated in parliament.
- Do not sign in every agreement the hospital, medical tourism company, Agent or facilitator indicates. Make sure that your rights are sufficiently guarded.
- Be aware that Facilitators do get a fee for each person they bring to a clinic. Information provided by such should be verified by other sources. They also receive a referral fee for referring you to a particular egg donor agency. This may increase the fees of your donor, so please check with the agency you are using if this is the case.
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Sources and Citations
- Surrogacy in India Guide
- Blog about surrogacy in India experiences
- Please note Global Doctors link has not been updated for three years and costings are out of date
