Laws & regulations about surrogacy are not generalized & varies from country to country , therefore it is important to understand its rules & implications in your respective country before taking this important decision. Legal status of commercial surrogacy in India is as follows :
ICMR
Only the guidelines laid down by ICMR in 2002 and amended in 2008 exits till date for the purpose of accreditation, supervision & regulation of ART clinics in India. The ART bill 2012 has been prepared and ready to be tabled in parliament for notification.
The commercial surrogacy is approved & allowed for Indian & foreign couples as per Supreme court’s ruling , however the surrogacy services are banned in India for same sex couples & single foreigner as per July 07,2012 notification by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) – Read the Guidelines and other Surrogacy notifications here.
Important Excerpts from Recent ART Bill
- The ART Clinic should not be a part of any commercial dealing in gestational surrogacy & donor process.
- Selection of gender both before & after fertilization or abortion of any particular gender is not permitted except in case of risk of transmission of any genetic abnormality from parent to fetus tested through PGD
- It’s the responsibility of ART Clinic to receive sperm/ gametes from proper ART Banks or third party donors rather than accepting the same from a relative or a known friend of either the wife or the husband
- Altrustic surrogacy is not allowed in India i.e. no relative or person known to couple should be allowed to act as surrogate carrier
- 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.
- It’s the responsibility of the commissioning parent to accept the child born through surrogacy arrangement surrogacy.
- After a specific consent, the embryos may be stored for five years and stored embryos may be used either for other couple or for research after taking the consent of the couple to whom the embryos belongs.
- The carrier should not be an unmarried girl and her age should be between 21-35 years i.e. the transfer of embryo should be performed only on married woman and that, too, with the written consent of her husband.
ART Bank vs ART Clinic
As per ICMR guidelines , ART clinic should function independently and not involved in any commercial dealing w.r.t surrogate mother management & donor programmes. The later should be handled by an professional ART bank.
Refer Chapter V; Clause 26; Para (1)(2)
(1) The screening of gamete donors and surrogates; the collection, screening and storage of semen; and provision of oocyte donor and surrogates, shall be done by an ART bank registered as an independent entity under the provisions of this Act
(2) An ART bank shall operate independently of any assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinic
Simultaneous Transfers
As per ART Bill, simultaneous transfer of embryos in two surrogates OR simultaneously in surrogate and self is not allowed . At Babyjoy, we don’t provide these services
Refer Chapter VII; Clause 34; Para (2o), (21)
(20) A couple or an individual shall not have the service of more than one surrogate at any given time
(21) A couple shall not have simultaneous transfer of embryos in the woman and in a surrogate
BJ –IP Agreement
With the confidence in our standardized processes & protocols to deliver the services in a most professional & ethical manner , we tend to sign the contract with all our IP’s.
Gestational Surrogacy
In an pursuance of prevalent guidelines & maintenance of our own high ethical & moral standards , we only provide gestational surrogacy services to our clients and don’t accept any requests for traditional surrogacy (not allowed in India ).
