Sourcing of Surrogate Mothers

Law Firms and the Semen Banks are the only two bodies authorized to act as a source for Oocytes and Surrogate Mothers as per the "Guidelines for Accreditation, Supervision and Regulation of ART Clinics in India, 2005" released by the Indian Council for Medical Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

It has been specifically mentioned in Point No.3.9.2 as follows: 

"Law firms and semen banks will be encouraged to obtain (for example, through appropriate advertisement) and maintain information on possible oocyte donors and surrogate mothers as per details mentioned elsewhere in this document. The above organizations may appropriately charge the couple for providing an oocyte or a surrogate mother. The oocyte donor may be compensated suitably (e.g. financially) by the law firm or semen bank when the oocyte is donated. However, negotiations between a couple and the surrogate mother must be conducted independently between them."

Indian Surrogacy Law Centre, in its capacity as a surrogacy law firm in India, has been helping intended parents throughout the world in finding the right Surrogate Mother or Egg Donor for realizing their dreams to parent hood. Our process to find the surrogate mother complies with the international standard, which is being followed by the best law firms in this field. The sourcing of the right surrogate mother is the first step ahead in the direction of surrogacy. It is not easy issue to have anyone carry your child. We understand your needs, and find the right surrogate mother serving those needs.

THE PROCESS

Indian Surrogacy Law Centre maintains its records of surrogate mothers. Please mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it informing your need for a surrogate mother. We shall respond to the mail immediately with an application form, which you would be required to complete and send back to us. The Application Form contains every detail about the Surrogate Mother you wish to work with. Based on this application, we would be finding the right surrogate mother for you.

An interested Surrogate Mother shall also be similarly required to fill an application form which contains her contact details, medical details, family history, and why the reason she wishes to act as a surrogate mother, and the consideration she is looking for. She shall be counseled preliminarily by an Indian lawyer at the time of filling of the application form with regard to the surrogacy procedure, payment procedures, the medical aspects, the need of her to be within a particular age group, and that she has to be a proven mother.

On receiving of the application form from the surrogate mother, along with the her Identity Proof, the application shall be processed by our application review team. After the filtering process, the applications which can be considered genuine alone are shortlisted. The short-listed applicants information, other than the contact details shall be disclosed to the Interested intended parents. Later, on short listing of the Surrogate Mother’s list by the Intended Parents, they would be allowed to meet the surrogate in person for a personal interview, or for a Skype call where they can intereact. At all times there shall be a lawyer available with you, who would communicate with surrogate mother in her local language.

 

Indian Surrogacy Law Centre recommends the following pointers for choosing of the right surrogate mother: 

a)      The surrogate needs to be a practical person who is completely aware of every possibility with regard to surrogacy.  For this purpose, a proper medical and legal counselling to the surrogate would suffice in the normal circumstances.  

 b)      The surrogate should understand that surrogacy is not a typical pregnancy procedure and there are more issues connected to it which are more complicated.  

 c)      The surrogate also needs to understand that the possibility of conceiving through this method is not that simple and not easy.  More importantly, that getting pregnant is something which is not in her hands. 

 d)      The Surrogate must clearly understand that surrogacy is very time consuming and that it takes more a year.  The surrogate should not be totally dependent on that money which is coming through surrogacy, as the surrogate tends to become hysterical until the receiving of the money. 

 e)      The surrogate should realise that she will be given a lot of medication and injections during the term of the pregnancy and she should be ready to go through these pains. 

 f)        The spouse of the surrogate must not only accept the process of the surrogate taking part in the surrogacy, but he should also encourage the surrogate.  It has been understood that the surrogate would be facing undesirable family problems in cases where she volunteers without the knowledge or acknowledgement of her spouse.  More importantly, the surrogate spouse should have been informed about all the possibilities of the surrogacy.  

 g)      The surrogate should be aware of selective reduction. The surrogate mother must clearly understand that conceiving of more than one baby is an inherent possibility and there are high chances for it to take place.  In such cases, selective reduction would be a normal process. The surrogate mother should accept selective reduction, if the need arises. Multiples are very common in surrogacy and it cannot be assumed that it cannot happen in your case. 

 h)      The surrogate should fix her own fees to see what according to her is the proper remuneration according. In most of the cases, this would also enable the Intended Parents to understand the attitude of the surrogate. 

 i)        It is most appropriate that the surrogate has had prior proven pregnancies.  The whole procedure of surrogacy is extremely expensive for the Intended Parents.  The Intended Parents take up all the expenses incurred in this lengthy procedure.  It has to be taken into consideration that where the surrogate has already had a proven pregnancy, it would enhance her quality as a surrogate as she has proved her capacity as a child bearer already. 

 j)        Surrogate would be facing unexplainable hardship in parting with the child which she had borne for the term.  In such cases, it is most advisable that the surrogate has already got children to whom she can return back, after handing over the child to the Intended Parents.  

k)      Though the surrogate may be ready mentally for handing over the child, the imbalance of hormones which takes place during the time of pregnancy might bring in mood swings for the surrogate and might destruct all her mental stability.  In such cases, it is most advisable that the surrogate mother has already got children to whom she can get back after the surrogacy. 

 l)        There exists a possibility that the surrogate mother might never be able to conceive again after undergoing surrogacy.  It is most advisable that the surrogate mother has already given birth to children, so that she would not feel exploited in cases the surrogacy leaves behind a situation where she can never bear a child again. 

 m)    The surrogate mother should be a woman of courage who will be able to face independently various constraints which are emotional as well societal.  

 n)      The surrogate mother must take her own independent and autonomous decision to act as a surrogate and to bear the child.  The decision to act as a surrogate should not come out of compulsion or out of coercion. This is most important in country like India where woman are not independent to make decisions. 

 

The experience of motherhood is a wonderful experience and the surrogate should wilfully come forward for doing it. It is only then that the Intended Parents as well the surrogate go through the process conveniently and comfortably.  More importantly, it is a good deed and it is not advisable for anyone to feel exploited in the process.  

As per the guidelines issued by the Government of India, Assisted Reproductive Technology Hospitals have been specifically eliminated from being a source of gametes or surrogate mother. Further, ART Clinics should not take part in any commercial aspect of the surrogacy with regard to the compensation to be provided to the surrogate. Only Semen Banks or the Law Firms are the authorised bodies who are entitled to act as a source for surrogates or the Occyte. In our capacity as a Law Firm, we have come up with innovative solutions for the purpose of finding the right egg donor or the right surrogate to perfectly match your needs, in complete conformity with the guidelines for the ART Clinics in India. We undertake to source the right surrogate or the egg donor for you by means of advertisements, which is the most recommended method by the ICMR Guidelines.