Surrogate Mothers in India – Costs, Laws, Medical Facilities & Culture
Surrogate mothers in India cost considerably lower (about, a fourth of what they would cost in the United States). The cost of surrogacy in the United States is approximately $50,000 to $100,000.
Surrogacy in India has fewer legal hassles and a Government organization – Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has set national guidelines to regulate it. Unlike many countries where surrogacy is banned or has many restrictions, India’s laws allow the surrogate mother to sign away her rights to the baby as soon as the baby is delivered.
Surrogacy is a God-sent option for women having trouble conceiving. The procedure uses IVF technology, except for the fact that the embryo is planted in the uterus of a surrogate mother, who can successfully carry the pregnancy to term.
Approximate Surrogacy Cycle Cost
At a reputed hospital in India surrogacy costs about US $ 22 to 35k. It includes
- Doctor Charges
- Surrogate Work up
- Antenatal Care
- Delivery Charges
- Surrogate compensation
- Drugs and Consumables
This does not include the cost of IVF / ICSI. IVF cost in India is about US $ 2,000. ICSI cost in India is about US $ 2,500. FYI, in India even more cheaper surrogacy options are available, but not advisable, due to potential higher medical quality issues.
Additionally, what works in favor of India, unlike some developing countries, is the availability of advanced health care facilities and doctors who speak English. Surrogacy in India is about a half a billion dollar business.
Remuneration is not the only reason for easy availability of Surrogate mothers in India, there is also a heartfelt desire to help others with the joys of parenthood and is an accepted practice in many communities there.
Surrogacy Procedure
The first step is to decide on the best the kind of surrogacy . There two types of surrogacy – genetic and gestational.
- Genetic(Traditional) Surrogacy: The surrogate is the genetic mother of the resulting child. In this the surrogate is artificially inseminated with the father(or a male sperm donor). Genetic surrogacy is simpler compared to gestational surrogacy.
- Gestational Surrogacy: In this the surrogate is not the genetic mother of the resulting child. The eggs(oocytes) are extracted from the mother(or egg donor) and mixed with the sperm from the father(sperm donor) in-vitro(in a test-tube, culture plate or similar vessel) that has an environment that will simulate that of the fallopian tubes. The embryo is then transferred into the surrogate’s uterus.
In detail, in case of gestational surrogacy, the donor is prepared by administering follicle stimulating (hormonal) medications to stimulate the production of eggs. This procedure takes about 4-6 weeks. These medications cause more than one egg to mature and they will be retrieved before they are released. These retrieved eggs are then fertilized by the sperm in a Petri dish in an incubator.
When the fertilized eggs reach the four to ten cell stage of development; they are called embryos and are ready to be placed in the womb of the surrogate, which is simultaneously prepared to receive the embryo so that it could be carried to term.
Not all eggs which are retrieved get fertilized and not all of the fertilized eggs are used in the current IVF cycle. Some of the embryos are cryopreserved for future IVF procedures.
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