Thailand - surrogacy Mecca is closed

As a result of major scandals with participation of Thai surrogate mothers and attended parents local government has passed a new law banning surrogacy in Thailand.

Such a loyal and user-friendly Thai law was changed for criminal liability for surrogacy conduction. Now surrogate mothers and foreigners who want to carry on this procedure with financial compensation will answer for their actions in court.

Not so long ago Thailand was one of the most popular medical destination attracting thousands of childless foreigners. Low price for the surrogacy program, loyal laws concerning assisted methords of reproduction, possibility to use services of local surogate mothers for non-traditional couples and singles - all these factors actively promoted surrogacy tourism in Thailand.

In recent years Thailand shuddered world public with scandals, the main participants of which were foreign couples and Thai surrogate mothers.

The last scandal case got a great response. Australian couple abandoned their biological baby born of a surrogate mother because he had Down syndrome, leaving the baby in Thailand.

After that government has revised laws on surrogacy and now this procedure is allowed only if both spouses are citizens of Thailand, or at least the nationality of the country has one of them. In addition, under the new law surrogate mother must be Thai citizen and over 25.

Thailand is not the only place where surrogacy could be done. There are alternatives of course. For example, Ukraine also can make boast of friendly legislation that permits surrogacy and egg donation programs. The only minus is that only heterosexual couples who formalized their relationships can use   services of surrogate mother. Ukraine offers reasonable prices, good service, and high success rates of ART programs, worthy base of donors and surrogate mothers. Line of patients to start the program can become a certain drawback in Ukrainian clinics. Since Ukraine has already gained medical trust of European residents, centers of reproductive medicine have to queue up patients. After all, selection of donors, surrogate mothers and other medical processes take a certain time. 

Now, after Thailand has left the ART market Ukraine has been preparing to accept greater number of infertile patients. Chief Doctor of BioTexCom medical center notes - "We welcome a lot of infertile patients from different countries all over the world, and this number has been growing from year to year. Our clinic also does not stand still. We develop and expand in order to take a large number of patients adequately and provide them with qualitative service. Now we open additional laboratories, expanding clinic’s territory, as well as increase staff of client managers, interpreters and medical workers ". 

Should androids have the right to have children?

In contemporary science fiction, we often see robots passing themselves off as humans. According to a UiS researcher, the genre problematises what it takes to be accepted as a human being and provides a useful contribution to the debate about who should have the right to reproduce.

Science fiction culture has prospered and gone from being for nerds only in the 1970s and 1980s to becoming part of popular culture in the last two decades. This particularly applies to the TV series genre, which has become mainstream with Battlestar Galactica (2004), Heroes (2006) and Fringe (2009).

"The genre has evolved from depicting technology as a threat, to dealing with more intimate relations between humans and machines", says Ingvil Hellstrand. In her doctoral thesis, she points out that science fiction today is often about humanoid androids that are trying to become "one of us".
According to Hellstrand, this is not incidental.

"Contemporary science fiction reflects current changes in a destabilised world, relating both to boundaries between Us and Them and the boundary regarding what it means to be human. This theme is closely connected to the revolution in medical technology in which we find ourselves", Hellstrand explains.

She debated this at the University of Stavanger earlier this year with her thesis "Passing as human. Posthuman worldings at stake in contemporary science fiction".

The struggle for acceptance

In her thesis, Hellstrand refers, among other things, to the male humanoid robot, Data, in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and the Cylon robots in Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009). These and the other series she has studied show changes in the science fiction genre, while also highlighting how the struggle to be accepted as human is related to the development of society.

Data is an android with advanced, artificial intelligence who is attempting to learn human behaviour. He deduces that being a parent is an important part of the human experience, and decides to reproduce and have a "daughter".

Hellstrand believes that Data is an interesting example of our own contemporary possibilities and challenges.

"Data argues for parenthood as a practice and not merely as a purely genetic identity. This feeds right into the debate that has been going on in Norway since the end of the 2000s. Norwegian biotechnology legislation was revised and opened access to assisted reproduction for all co-habiting women in either heterosexual or homosexual relationships", explains Hellstrand, who is also affiliated with The Network for Gender Research at UiS.

The right to have children

The gender researcher believes that an obvious question in the current debate is: If surrogacy is allowed in Norway, then in the name of equality, will a single man also have the right to become a single parent? Furthermore, will two fathers be acceptable?

Hellstrand points out that the discussion about reproduction is closely connected to both political rights and the right to control our own bodies, which is an important feminist argument.
"Regarding surrogacy, feminist principles relating to the mother's body and rights are also challenged by men's needs and rights to provide care for children. It is important to discuss such matters from a new perspective based on the current technological situation, without either overlooking or clinging to traditional feminist arguments", says Hellstrand.

"The question regarding who should have the right to assisted reproduction is a debate that changes with our understanding of what it means to be human and the norms relating to identity and belonging, especially parenthood. These are big questions that we, as a society, are struggling with", Hellstrand says, and refers to Nina Karin Monsen who blindly argues for a distinction between those she calls "natural children" and "constructed children", where the constructed children are a result of assisted reproduction among homosexual couples.

Unlike Monsen, Hellstrand thinks that the term "natural" should be problematised to a greater degree. She wishes to challenge our conventional conception of what is natural by referring to science fiction.
"The cyborgs are now having children. Cyborg in this context refers to Donna Haraway's political figurations for describing how technology and biology have become so entangled that it is almost impossible to distinguish them from one another. Take assisted reproduction, for example. It provides technological assistance to – or enables – biological processes. As Haraway says: "With our increasing dependence on technology, we are all cyborgs. Perhaps the androids will be next?"

The new enemy image

Hellstrand regards the science fiction genre with its radical future scenarios as suitable for shedding light on the ethical and political dilemmas of our time. The researcher also emphasises the ability of science fiction stories to absorb changes in society when it comes to the threat of terror.

The TV series Battlestar Galactica is about human survival when faced with a warring society of robots called the Cylons. They see themselves as a new step on the evolutionary ladder, with a greater capacity for feeling and giving love than humans. Their attacks and infiltration are a revolt against human hegemony, and the goal is to exterminate mankind.

"This series has been read as one that focuses on global political and ethical issues after 9/11. The series illustrates how fixed enemy images are gradually replaced by a new, more fluid and uncertain image of an enemy: The enemy is among us", Hellstrand explains.

The most significant robots in Battlestar Galactica appear in women's bodies. They have sexual and intimate relations with men. The character's love life and sex life are a central part of being accepted as human. They have a desire to reproduce in a conventional manner, precisely in order to pass as human; being human is a type of behaviour.

"They cannot be differentiated from a "real" human, and are accepted as human until they suddenly reveal that, actually, they are not. This is also part of highlighting today's uncertain enemy image", Hellstrand says.

Exploring human boundaries

Hellstrand wishes to problematise the "human" category and feels that we should be open to several possible definitions of what it means to be human.
"Identities such as mother, father and parent are often confined to a closed or restricted meaning. There are a great many implied qualities and values connected with the terms "mother" and "father". Nevertheless, we know that perceptions about current motherhood or fatherhood have changed throughout history."

Hellstrand reminds us that challenging traditional roles is a central part of feminist theory and gender research—one that seeks to broaden established gender roles rather than restrict them.

"Even though we now have new watersheds with a more open diversity of family type, it is not a given that we have a diverse understanding of motherhood or fatherhood. We need more discussion and openness here", maintains Hellstrand, who believes in a future with greater diversity in relation to identity, not least with regard to technological possibilities and social relations of our time.

Hellstrand thinks that science fiction helps shed light on what is at stake when acceptance or lack thereof challenges our perception of what a human being is—ethically, politically and ontologically. She uses feminist theory and post-colonial theory to explain how "the human" is related to our understanding of "normal" and how this in turn is linked to power relations based on gender, sexuality and race.

"Science fiction is a suitable medium for exploring humans and their boundaries. Our debate on sexuality, gender and different forms of assisted reproduction demonstrates how we understand the terms "real" or "correct". These are strongly connected to the hegemony of the heterosexual nuclear family", Hellstrand explains.

A more courageous debate is required

This year, egg donation and surrogacy are being debated under the auspices of the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board.
The gender researcher reminds us that the biotechnology debate is particularly sensitive as it involves real people who have made choices, all of which are taboo, and, in some cases, not permitted by law in Norway. Nevertheless, she would like a more robust debate.

"We need a more courageous debate about what it means to be human. Science fiction can help us with this. In science fiction radical things can be started, concretised and pushed to extremes", Hellstrand says.

The researcher believes that this genre can change our perceptions and recommends that the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board watch television programmes about androids.

"I think that the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board must deal with future possibilities in their work on formulating ethical policy guidelines for our time. What if the advisory board had taken into account an equivalent abundance of possible social structures and social relationships as are found in the science fiction genre? I think that the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board can learn from the range of dilemmas, questions and solutions that are found in fiction, and in this way perhaps consider that their suggestions should apply to future situations, and not just current ones.
http://phys.org/

Where to go for surrogacy? Countries of assisted reproductive technologies

Surrogacy has already managed to gain a foothold in the modern world. Every year number of couples who seek the help of surrogate mothers has been constantly growing. According to the statistics over the last 3 years demand for surrogacy has increased by 120%. According to the unofficial data, more than 250 thousand children were born in the world due to surrogacy. However attitude towards such method of family adding is far from certain. Most countries consider this procedure to be immoral and unacceptable, and therefore prohibit it by local law.

In such countries as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria any form of surrogate motherhood is permitted.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and Belgium surrogacy is allowed only if surrogate mother receives no financial benefits. That is, commercial surrogacy is prohibited by the law which creates a criminal responsibility.

Nevertheless there are states which attract thousands of infertile couples from around the world to conduct surrogacy programs legally. Commercial surrogacy is legal in some states of the United States of America, India, Russia and Ukraine.

Couples who want to become parents go abroad and without violating neither any laws of own country, nor state’s where surrogacy is performed  receive desired result - so long-awaited child. Experts note - United States, India, Ukraine and Russia are among the most popular destinations for commercial surrogacy conduction. Each country has both its advantages and disadvantages in the surrogacy field. So, let's look at them in a more comprehensive way.

Going to the American clinics, you probably pay for the brand "Made in America." After all Europeans trust much more America than, for example, a little-known Ukraine or doubtful India. In the USA, surrogacy program costs about 40 - 60 thousand dollars. This price doesn’t include meet and greet services, accommodation, food and other necessary services for a foreigner. All additional services are borne by the client. Clients have to pay for each IVF attempt separately. On the other hand, in America, you get a high level of services, advanced technologies and American passport for a newborn baby that opens good opportunities for him in future. 

A lot of European citizens go to the Russian Federation in order to use surrogacy. There this issue is clearly stated in the law and absolutely legal. But there is a danger that surrogate mother will change her mind to give your baby after his birth. And the law in this case will be on the side of surrogate mother. There are also a lot of intermediary agencies in Russia, which don’t require state licensing. As a result market of surrogate motherhood includes a lot of scams that take customers money and disappear or don’t conduct any proceedings in reality. Despite these drawbacks there are still those who will find Russia appropriate country for surrogacy program. Because country's legislation mentions anything about the possibility of using such program by couples who are not registered their family relationships, single women and men, as well as non-traditional couples.

India has managed to enter the list of surrogacy leaders as well. Indian law concerning surrogacy has no particular limits: unmarried men or women, couples who registered their marriage or those who live in a civil marriage can choose surrogacy program in India. As of the price, it costs about 20 thousand dollars, which is much less than in European or American clinics. But there is another side of the coin - often, surrogacy process occurs in conditions that are far from norms and standards. Surrogate mothers don’t go through all needed medical diagnosis and tests. They live in insanitary conditions. It should be also noted that there is a non-standard Indian law concerning ultrasound diagnostic. It is forbidden in India! Therefore biological parents of the child risk of getting ill and sometimes with serious disabilities or physical defects child.

Ukraine pleasantly surprises. The third world country, weak state, debilitated economy and collapsing infrastructure. But local clinics show rather good results in the sphere of reproductive medicine. Surrogate mothers are carefully checked in accordance with the international requirements. Appropriate price, "all inclusive" programs, and even 100% guarantee - all these can be found in Ukraine. Despite this fact Ukraine is a country where majority of Europeans are afraid to go to. 

However those ones who have visited Ukraine found that it’s a beautiful, civilized country, with high rates of success in the field of assisted reproduction. This country, located in the Eastern Europe, has the most loyal legislation concerning surrogacy. It’s all because of the legality of the procedure and good prices, many Europeans go to Ukrainian clinics to take advantage of surrogate motherhood there. As a result of the massive influx of patients it can be seen a shortage of surrogate mothers. In addition, turn to join the program sometimes can last for 1year.Those patients who have already conducted the program share their happiness and pleasant experience http://mother-surrogate.info/uk-couple-tell-success-surrogacy-story/

Surrogacy families adjust to new lives

VINCENNES, Ind. - Neither Sara McCarter nor Tara Pearce ever worried about what would happen once Tara gave birth to Sara’s twins — it was the rest of the world that wondered.

“Everyone kept asking me if I would be attached to them,” said Tara, who carried Sara’s biological twins as a surrogate. “They asked me if it would be hard to give them back. They weren’t my babies to begin with.”

In fact, Tara said just minutes after giving birth on Easter Sunday that it felt like she was visiting a good friend who’d given birth, not that she’d carried those babies for nine long months.

“It was amazing,” she said of the speedy birth. “We talked throughout the night about how it was awesome for everyone; it couldn’t have gone better. It went so fast that there was no time to be nervous or expect anything. It was perfect. I think emotionally it helped me a lot to have such a good delivery. I didn’t feel sad afterward.”

Mila, weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces, was born at 7:11 p.m. April 5. Her twin brother Blaine weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce and was born 15 minutes later.

Although the women are the best of friends now, Sara and Tara hadn’t even met a little more than a year ago. Sara was working with Surrogacy Together — an organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the surrogacy process — to find a surrogate.

The group doesn’t pay for the process but instead works with professionals — reproductive lawyers, surrogacy agencies, reproductive specialists, etc. — who offer their services pro bono or at a significantly reduced cost making the financial burden one that the McCarters, both 29, felt they could bear. A typical surrogacy costs between $60,000 and $120,000.

Sara was talking about her search for a surrogate at work when co-worker Chris Pearce, Tara’s husband, overheard. The Pearces had talked about the possibility of surrogacy so Chris approached Tara with the idea.

Soon the families met, a contract was signed and the deal done. Tara agreed to be the surrogate with no financial compensation — typically a standard part of a surrogacy arrangement. She’d been blessed with being mom to five children of her own and wanted to help McCarter experience that same feeling and couldn’t imagine taking money, Pearce said.

‘It’s time’

“When my phone rang I just knew it,” Sara said, still struggling to suppress her giddiness months after the phone call. “But I guess every time my phone rang I thought that. I picked it up, and Tara was so excited I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but I knew. I started screaming back. We were talking in jibberish together.”

Sara nearly jumped over her husband to get out of the restaurant booth and head to the hospital.

Sara and husband Zach, of Wheatland, were waiting outside the hospital with their hospital bags and baby supplies ready to go.

But Tara wasn’t in much of a hurry. She’d had a hankering for Taco Bell, and even with her water broken and contractions starting she was vacuuming her bedroom. Tara also still had her sights set on hitting up the fast food restaurant before going to the hospital.

She even asked her husband Chris if he thought she’d have the babies that night or the next day. As he was trying to rush her along he answered, “Definitely tonight.”

Tara checked into Vincennes’ Good Samaritan Hospital at 7 p.m.

“As I was getting changed and they were all in the hallway I knew,” Tara said. “It’s time!”

Sara thought there were still hours left before she’d become a mom. As a surgical nurse at the hospital, she was visiting in the hallway with staff she knew well.

“I heard her scream, ‘Get in here now!’” Sara said. “I ran in and asked what was wrong. She was ready to push.”

Before an obstetrician could even arrive, Mila “just popped out on the bed.” The anesthesiologist delivered his first baby that night, just 11 minutes after Tara checked into the hospital.

“I remember instantly crying,” Sara said of the moment. “I was so excited and happy to see her but so terrified because we didn’t have an OB. I left Tara’s side and ran over to the warmer. I kept asking the nurses, ‘Can I touch her?’ I was sobbing. It was the most amazing feeling — instant love. I’d dreamed for this day. I can’t even express what it felt like. I’d never experienced so much excitement and pure insanity in one moment.”

The on-call OB arrived and prepared to deliver Blaine. The care they received, even in the midst of such a speedy delivery, was impeccable, the women said.

In all of the chaos, Sara was finally handed her daughter, who she slipped inside her shirt so the two could bond via skin-to-skin contact.

“I was so happy but still at this point scared for my son who was breach,” Sara said. “Watching him be born was so scary but amazing to see. I’d be looking and then have to turn away but would have to look back. Once he was born it was instant relief.”

Blaine was checked over, and then given to Zach for skin-to-skin contact.

“I knew Tara was OK because she instantly said, ‘When do I get to go home. I need to go to the bathroom,’” Sara joked. “I knew then we could focus on the babies.”

‘It was so natural’

Sara and Zach stayed in the delivery room with Tara and Chris for quite some time switching babies. And then Sara held both of them at the same time.

“They were hungry so I nursed them,” Sara said matter-of-factly, “both of them at the same time. They latched right on. It came so naturally. They instantly knew what to do.”

She’d spent months leading up to their birth preparing her body to lactate, having to take special medications combined with the use of a breast pump. This was something Sara wanted to do. She felt robbed being unable to carry her own children. But this was something she could provide them.

“I was so scared my motherly instincts wouldn’t kick in because I didn’t experience pregnancy,” she said. “But it was so natural. I started crying instantly saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m doing this.’”

From time to time the nurses came to get the babies from Sara to take them to the nursery for needed procedures, and while Sara knew it was routine and necessary, she could barely let them out of her sight.

“I just sobbed if they took them,” she said. “I waited so long for these babies and love them so much. Even when Tara was pregnant, I know I couldn’t bond with them the same way if I was carrying them because they were in her stomach. But I still grew to love them like anyone would who was pregnant. I was attached to them. If I went several days in a row without seeing Tara, I truly missed them; I’d have separation anxiety not being by them. So now, I finally had them, and I didn’t want to let go of them.”

The relationship that had grown so strong over the last year didn’t just stop after the babies were born. Both women said they’ve found a new friend for life.

“I love her so much, and she loves me,” Sara said of Tara. “She has become one of my best friends through this experience. I couldn’t stop talking to her all the time.”

Tara said the two will always remain close friends and the twins will always be a part of her life, although her relationship with them will be no different from that of the children of her other close friends.

“It’s odd,” Tara said. “You’d think it would be different with them, but it’s not. I’ll always like to love and snuggle on them, but it’s not different. During this whole process I never was afraid of what would happen after the delivery. I knew I wouldn’t be attached to the babies.”

Tara didn’t even hold the babies until the next day, the day she was discharged from the hospital.

“We didn’t know what to expect with this experience,” she said, pointing out she would do this again with the McCarters in a heartbeat. “It was a great experience. I have always had a special place in my heart for women struggling with fertility. I feel guilty that Sara couldn’t experience this for herself. So anything I could do to help that, I was glad to do.”

Changing priorities

Life for the McCarters is drastically different.

“Our whole life revolves around them and their schedule,” Sara said. “Priorities, everything totally changes. It isn’t about us anymore; it is always about them.”

But with those changes come an infinite amount of love and fulfillment, she said.

“The amount of love and satisfaction with my life, now that I have it my heart finally feels full,” Sara said. “I finally feel truly happy. I expected all of that. What I didn’t expect were the challenges with multiples.

“When you live it, woo! It is worth every second, but it is harder then I ever thought it would be.”

It took Sara and Zach a few months to get the hang of things but Sara said they have life down pretty well.

“It really is the best,” she said. “My life, it has changed completely. I go to bed at 8:30 p.m. Before the babies that would never have happened. Zach and I may have gone out on the deck and drank some beers on a Saturday night until midnight or 1. Now my Saturday night consists of trying to help my son to roll over and going to bed by 8:30. But I’m so happy with that. It’s a great change.”

Her gratefulness to Tara and the entire surrogacy experience hasn’t worn off yet.

“We are so lucky, we have so many people who have been so supportive throughout this process,” Sara said.

From an egg retrieval party and surprise shower from work friends to gifts and showers from families, she said the support has been strong.

Next steps

Life suddenly has meaning for Sara.

“It feels so good to have purpose,” she said. “Before I felt like I had no purpose in life. I would ask, ‘What am I here for? What am I doing?’ Now I have these amazing two babies. I wake up every morning because of them, because they need me. I love that feeling. It’s amazing. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“I can’t picture my life without them. I think back to life before babies and say, ‘What a crappy life. It sucks. I can’t believe I did that for so long.”

In the throes of raising two infants, Sara and Zach are focusing on the children they have and giving them the best possible life.

“As far as a sibling, we’re just not sure,” she said. “We’re not opposed to it but we’ll just see what the future holds. ... Either way, our lives are complete with Blaine and Mila.”

Tara isn’t ready to become a “professional” surrogate anytime soon but said she would carry another child for Sara and Zach in a heartbeat.

But for now, Tara — who has five children of her own ranging in age from 2 to 13 — is looking forward to the next step in her journey, nursing school. She is a registered X-ray technician so the medical field isn’t completely foreign to her.

“I love helping people,” she said. “This is another way I can do that. And now that the kids are getting older and I’m done with surrogacy for now, it just seems like a good time.”

Her goal, once she becomes a registered nurse, is to work in OB.

‘Don’t give up’

The idea of surrogacy can seem like an unobtainable and overwhelming process, Sara said. But for those couples struggling with infertility it can be a feasible option, she said.

“I wanted this so badly,” Sara said. “So I found a way to make it happen. You could too, that is the amazing thing about surrogacy. It is a second chance to have a family, even if your body is broken, and you are incapable of doing it. There is still a way to get your baby home.”

For Sara, even before Tara was pregnant, she loved the babies so much. She loved the idea of them. When she learned surrogacy was a possibility, Sara couldn’t shake the idea.

“When I knew I could do this, how could I not do it?” she said. “You do what you have to do. We gave up a lot, made a lot of sacrifices, so we would have the funds to do it. I researched grants and programs. And that’s how I discovered Surrogacy Together.”

But once the surrogacy is underway, the challenges haven’t subsided, the roller coaster journey is just beginning.

“I know it can be so hard,” Sara said. “It is a constant waiting game. There are so many emotions up and down. And someone else having your baby is so hard. But you have to stay focused on the end results — at the end of day you’re going to have your family. No matter how hard it is, it’s worth it.”
http://www.courierpress.com/

Indian surrogacy law stalled, leaving women on their own

An Indian surrogate is a wretched creature. She is at the mercy of her poverty. As a woman, she is at the mercy of her husband and in-laws. As a surrogate, she is at the mercy of the doctors treating her and, according to a new study, what some of them do to her goes against medical ethics but they do it anyway because she is poor and illiterate.

Researchers from two Indian universities, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Aarhus University in Denmark say in a new study that some doctors in fertility clinics implant several embryos in the womb – sometimes as many as five or six – to ensure a higher success rate for the commissioning couple. One woman in the study was found to be carrying seven embryos, even though medical guidelines advise that no more than three should be transferred so as not to pose a risk to a mother’s health.

In their year-long study, the researchers found that doctors often consulted the commissioning couple about decisions, but few involved the surrogate mother. In any case, the notion of informed consent is a joke if women cannot read contracts and cannot understand oral explanations because the concepts and vocabulary are beyond them.

Given the vulnerability of the mothers, it is shocking that India has left the surrogacy industry, worth an estimated $2.3-billion (U.S.), almost totally unregulated. Five years ago, as reports of exploitation by middlemen began to surface along with stories of surrogates being paid a pittance compared with the money flowing to clinics and middlemen, the Indian government drafted legislation to regulate the industry. But the Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill has been hanging fire ever since. Indian MPs are too busy haranguing one another about corruption to pass a law to protect surrogates from abuse.

Parliament convened on July 21 for the monsoon session and it is high time legislators applied their minds to the bill and passed it into law. Under the bill, the banks that would handle the money being exchanged for surrogacy will have to be registered, and commissioning parents will have to go to the registered banks to identify surrogates. And the process of recruiting surrogates – currently a totally random event, with agents who work for private IVF clinics trawling poor neighbourhoods for possible surrogates – will be streamlined.

The bill also contains provisions for situations where the commissioning couple reject the baby. That happened in 2012 when an Australian couple’s Indian surrogate gave birth to twins; because the couple already had a son, they decided to take home the baby girl but left the perfectly healthy twin boy in India. The bill would require commissioning couples to pay a bond so that if a baby is not accepted, there is least enough money to raise and educate the child.

It is insulting to surrogates, who are already victimized, to call them, as some do, “biological coolies.” But that is the sad truth. They rent out their wombs to raise money to care for their own families, or to escape their squalid slums.

That for five years MPs have not bothered to act on legislation that would help these women is a brutal demonstration of the fact that poor Indians – and particularly poor Indian women – have no voice or clout in the corridors of power.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government came to power more than a year ago, it promised voters achhe din (good days). MPs need to live up to that pledge.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

High price tags and ugly secrets – how surrogacy preys on poor women

Women from a poor demographic have become an increasing interest in the multi-billion dollar surrogate industry, with most mothers being forced or coerced into volunteering as a surrogate.

“Surrogacy depends in many cases on the exploitation of poor women, because it’s the poor who have to sell and the rich that can afford to buy,” Christopher White told CNA July 23.

White, who serves as the Director of Research and Education at the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, said that frequently in countries from the developing world like India and Thailand, where the surrogacy market is booming, the women hired as surrogates “are forced into the practice due to patriarchal structures.”

“They are given very little consent in the matter, or these women feel as if it’s their only choice and one of the few ways they can contribute to their household income. So they go, very often hesitantly and unwillingly, and enter into this practice.”

India and Thailand are among the most common international destinations for couples seeking surrogacy due to low costs and loose regulations. White also named Mexico, Nepal and Ukraine as other countries where the market is growing.

Attention has mounted the past few days over a recent surrogacy case in Thailand in which a surrogate mother refused to allow the American couple who hired her to take their child out of the country when she found out that they were homosexual, Reuters News reports.

Although the woman in the case, Patidta, is not the child’s biological mother, under Thai law the birth mother is recognized as being the mother of the child, and commissioning parents have no automatic legal rights over the child born.

Apparently Patidta believed she would be giving the baby to a heterosexual couple, but only learned they were homosexual when the couple came to pick the child up. She then refused to let them take the baby.

Such a lack of transparency in the surrogacy industry is not uncommon.

Alana Newman, founder of the Anonymous Us Project, told CNA July 24 that “there is definitely enormous deception being used from every angle.”

“Egg providers and surrogates are being lied to about the health consequences of the hormones they take. They are being sold a fantasy that every intended couple that walks through the doors of fertility clinics will make loving, wholesome homes when in fact there are no incentives whatsoever for fertility industry professionals to vet and reject customers with troubling profiles.”

Newman’s project gathers stories of individuals who have either willingly or unwillingly participated in reproductive technologies such as surrogacy, with the goal of fostering truth and transparency in the industry.

She said that as far as surrogacy goes, there is no guarantee of integrity of the gamete providers, and that sperm donors “can and do say whatever they think the woman wants to hear – just like they would at a bar.”

“There are pedophiles hiring surrogates and egg donors. There are gamete providers and fertility industry workers lying on paperwork about donor profiles to sell more specimen.”

Keeping such anonymity, she said, “lets them maintain a warm fantasy.”

The controversy is the latest in Thailand after numerous cases surfaced last year, including accusations that an Australian couple abandoned their Downs Syndrome baby, leaving him with the birth mother and taking only his healthy twin sister back home.

Surrogacy laws in Thailand have changed following last year’s scandals, banning foreigners from receiving surrogacy services. However, the new law doesn’t go into effect until July 30 of this year, making the couple’s request legal.

The American couple that hired Patidta have another child born through surrogacy in India, but went to Thailand after India changed their laws last year allowing only heterosexual couples to seek surrogates.

White explained that although the majority of couples looking for a surrogate mother are currently heterosexual, recent years have seen a spike in the number of homosexual couples looking for assisted reproductive services.

He said the recent push for marriage equality has also given rise to the idea of “family equality,” in which the couples insist on their right to form their own families “without any type of restriction, and should be granted access by insurance benefits and other means to acquire the family of their desires.”

Although concrete statistics on the exact number of homosexual couples now seeking third party reproductive services are hard to find, White said it’s enough to go to any surrogacy website and look at their marketing.

On any major surrogacy site “you’ll find that they are particularly marketing toward the demographic of gay men,” he said.

“These agencies have special programs for gay men, they have special conferences such as ‘Families through Surrogacy,’ (and) ‘Families by Design,’ all targeted toward this population.”

White also noted the various health risks associated with surrogate pregnancies, for both the woman and the child.

Due to surrogacy’s high costs and the desire for brokers and agencies to boost their success, usually numerous embryos are implanted in the surrogate mother, which White said can lead to an increased risk of cesarean sections and longer hospital stays.

The child born through surrogacy also faces greater risks, he said, including the increased chance of low birth rates, pre-term births, fetal abnormalities and high blood pressure.

Emotional and psychological health is also a concern due to the severing of the mother-child bond that is usually encouraged during pregnancy, but which is cut off in cases of surrogacy.

“It’s a human rights tragedy,” White said. “The entire practice just shows the way in which we’ve commodified the human body.”

“It subjects these women and children that are born by this practice to risks that are unnecessary, but we’ve commercialized the body. It undermines both these women’s health and their dignity.”

He explained that women who serve as surrogates are frequently disregarded after the birth of the child, and that it’s rare to see a surrogate mother come back to do it again.

Instances of war or natural disaster can complicate the situation, such as in the case of Ukraine and the recent earthquakes in Nepal, White observed.

“Any time there’s a stressful situation or heightened drama around the surrogate pregnancy, what’s quickly revealed is the fact that these surrogate mothers are looked upon simply as employees of the agencies rather than mothers or patients,” he said.

Rather than being treated the same as a mother delivering her own child in the hospital, these women “are being monitored and supervised because someone’s dollar value is on the line. There’s a price tag attached to that transaction.”
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/

Fresh and frozen eggs - what's better?

There is not always an opportunity to use fresh, not frozen eggs during IVF program. Advertising articles assures us vitrification or eggs’ freezing is a modern technique that allows specialists to save eggs and postpone indefinitely fertilization process. But what is the quality of biological material after it’s unfreezing?

Today European states where IVF is allowed actively use frozen eggs which they often buy in other countries. Egg donation is allowed not anywhere. And if it is legal there are not too many those wishing to share their cells. Therefore Europe buys donor eggs, for example, in Ukraine. There such procedures are clearly defined in the local legislation, and there are many young healthy women ready to give their eggs for certain fee.

But rather important question arises - is needed eggs’ quality saved after unfreezing, and will programs be successful using frozen material? Representative of American community of Reproductive Medicine states: "Although analysis of literature shows that cryopreservation technique is effective for women who need it for medical reasons we cannot use it widely to plan pregnancy".

In fact there is still doubt. Female germ cells are large and contain water. So after their cooling (in particular, freezing) crystals are formed and distort integrity of gametes. As a result, due to cell homeostasis disturbance most part of biological material cannot be used for fertilization. Also there can be cells’ defects which are not visible during transplantation. Such degeneration of genetic material can significantly affect health condition of children in future.

In spite the fact Ukraine is a third world country, Ukrainian clinics have rather high success rate of IVF programs. That is because doctors there use only fresh eggs conducting in vitro fertilization. Results speak for themselves. According to the statistics – IVF with frozen eggs: 70% negative result, 28,6% failure pregnancy after 15 days, 1,4 % successful pregnancy; IVF with fresh eggs: 34% negative result, 15 % failure pregnancy after 15 days, 51 % successful pregnancy.    

Center for Human Reproduction BioTexCom brings to life dream of child of thousands infertile couples from all over the world. They come to Kiev medical center and get desired result conducting a minimum number of attempts. Fresh eggs is key to success, - says doctor of the center. 

Embryologist of BioTexCom clinic notes: “I realize that thousands of patients place their fates in my hands. It can be said I create infertile couples' happiness and their future children. I always remember this fact and realize my great responsibility. Entering embryology unit I understand that new life now depends on me and my work. People come to us from around the world and usually they visit our clinic after numerous unsuccessful attempts and being in do-or-die condition. Working in the laboratory, I select only the highest quality, healthy, fresh eggs for the program. As a result we reach positive result relatively quickly”.  

Ireland, Same-Sex Marriage, And Surrogacy: Connecting The Dots

At first blush, the issues of same-sex marriage and surrogacy don’t seem to have too great a connection. However, in Ireland, a public debate illustrates how closely these issues are related, and it isn’t good.

In May, same-sex marriage became legal in Ireland by public vote. In the days before the vote, major news sources noted that “fears” of surrogacy would sink the vote for same-sex marriage, even though surrogacy is not legal in Ireland. The question raised is: Do people have a right to procreate or, more importantly, have children? Christopher White explains:

The confusion can be traced back to a 1991 case, Murray v. Ireland, in which the high court effectively held that there is a constitutional right to procreate. While many on both sides of the referendum argued that this decision was referring to natural procreation, the decision has already been used to promote donor conception. It’s understandable, then, that many were fearful that a “yes” vote would open the floodgates to a practice that many Irish voters do not support. Mothers and Fathers Matter—the leading civic group opposing the same-sex marriage referendum—launched a campaign that papered the country with ads and posters of a young, concerned toddler with the following slogan: “Surrogacy?: She Needs Her Mother For Life, Not Just For Nine Months. Vote No.”

Even those in the gay community don’t agree on surrogacy. Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana – both homosexual – made international headlines when they spoke out against surrogacy. Lesbian activist Julie Blindel recently wrote in the British press:

The accelerating boom in surrogacy for gay couples is no victory for freedom or emancipation. On the contrary, it represents a disturbing slide into the brutal exploitation of women who usually come from the developing world and are often bullied or pimped into selling their wombs to satisfy the selfish whims of wealthy gay or lesbian westerners. This cruelty is accompanied by epic hypocriSosy. People from Europe and the USA who would shudder at the idea of involvement in human or sex trafficking have ended up indulging in a grotesque form of ‘reproductive trafficking’.
One U.S. surrogacy organization gleefully admits that same-sex marriage is a boon to their industry.

The Supreme Court decision also arrived at the same time Extraordinary Conceptions was offering its $1,250 new summer surrogate signing bonus until July 31, 2015. Surrogates have the potential to earn $32,000 to $60,000 for an unforgettable memory, especially if they want to carry a baby for a gay man or couple.

What a celebratory moment this is — a historic victory for the gay rights movement and new surrogates can be part of it.

So, when the dots are connected between same-sex marriage and parenthood, what we end up with is a picture that often includes surrogacy. And surrogacy is nothing more than trafficking in human beings. A person is created for sale and use by other human beings. That’s trafficking … and that’s wrong.
http://blog.acton.org/archives/80374-ireland-same-sex-marriage-and-surrogacy-connecting-the-dots.html

Surrogacy laws in India cause alarm for conservatives

Mothers of babies born by surrogate will be allowed maternity leave in India, leaving conservatives worried about same-sex and single parenting

Mothers whose children were born by surrogacy in India will be entitled to pre- and post-natal maternity leave, following a high court ruling in Delhi on Friday.
The judgement concerned a petition filed by employee of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan in Delhi, who was fighting to receive maternity leave after becoming the mother of a child born by surrogacy.

Opponents of the petition attempted to stop the law from passing, using the argument that changing maternity leave laws may open the possibility of surrogacy to gay couples – and single parents – who are looking to conceive.

With no central or state government ruling on surrogacy and maternity benefits, this judgement fills a gap in the law, allowing the commissioning mother, rather than the surrogate who carried the baby, to be recognized as the legal mother of the child.

On delivering the ruling, Justice Rajiv Shakdher said: ‘There appears to be an inertia in recognizing that motherhood can be attained, even via surrogacy.’

He added: ‘A commissioning mother needs to bond with the child and at times take over the role of a breast-feeding mother, immediately after the delivery of the child.’

‘In sum, the commissioning mother would become the principal care-giver upon the birth of the child.

Undoubtedly, the fact that the surrogate mother carried the pregnancy to full term, involved physiological changes to her body, which were not experienced by the commissioning mother but, from this, could one possibly conclude that her emotional involvement was any less, if not more, than the surrogate mother?’

Commercial surrogacy in India is legal, although regulations introduced in January 2013 stopped foreign same-sex couples from using Indian surrogate mothers to carry their children, after restrictions were tightened.

Only men and women who have been married for two years are granted visas for the purpose of surrogacy.

There are also biological restrictions on who can and cannot be a donor or surrogate.

The Law Commission of India issued the following observations when surrogacy was legalized: ‘One of the intended parents should be a donor as well, because the bond of love and affection with a child primarily emanates from biological relationship.

‘Also, the chances of various kinds of child-abuse, which have been noticed in cases of adoptions, will be reduced.

‘In case the intended parent is single, he or she should be a donor to be able to have a surrogate child. Otherwise, adoption is the way to have a child which is resorted to if biological (natural) parents and adoptive parents are different.
http://www.gaystarnews.com/

Artificial insemination – celebrities and ordinary people

Surrogate motherhood and egg donation has already become so popular that today such procedure is no surprise for anybody at all. Internationally known celebrities often resort to the assisted methods of reproductive medicine. Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ricky Martin, Robert De Niro, Elton John and many other famous persons have added family using services of surrogate mothers.

For most celebrities it’s not only happiness of motherhood and fatherhood, but additional attraction for journalists and tabloids as well. News that another one Hollywood couple became parents of a surrogate child is always in the front pages. But not only rich and famous turn to the help of ART, but ordinary people as well. Only newspapers don’t cover their stories. But it’s also worth writing.

Thus center for human reproduction BioTexCom each month welcomes patients from all over the world, of any ages, with different diagnoses and for various programs. It happens so that even doctors surprised. Nevertheless they always judiciously and successfully conduct artificial fertilization programs.

News about pregnant 66-year-old resident of Switzerland spread around the world. Woman addressed BioTexCom specialists as it was her only chance - in Ukraine there is no age limit for women to conduct IVF, moreover BioTexCom doctors treat even the most hopeless infertility cases. Swiss woman was transferred embryos created with the use of donated eggs and sperm. As a result mother - heroine carried and gave birth to healthy twins.

A lot of couples at the age of 50-60 visit Ukrainian medical center in order to use assisted methods of reproductive medicine. Not so long ago, woman from Germany, at the age of 67 successfully became pregnant after the second IVF attempt, using donor eggs. Being in good health woman safely carried pregnancy and gave birth to a healthy girl.

Many couples come back again to the BioTexCom medical center to conduct surrogacy or egg donation program once more. Clinic’s staff is always happy to receive letters of thanks of foreign patients, as well as photo and video of children who were born thanks to the talented embryologists of BioTexCom.

http://mother-surrogate.info/category/video/

Surrogacy abroad: your legal checklist

Surrogacy arrangements are becoming ever more popular.
Although official statistics remain hard to come by, recent research suggests that people from the UK are statistically the most likely of our European counterparts to enter into commercial surrogacy arrangements abroad.

The legal position varies widely from country to country and there is little consistency across different legal jurisdictions.

In some countries such as Germany, Portugal and France surrogacy is prohibited completely. In others (the UK amongst them) ‘altruistic surrogacy’ is permitted but payment for commercial surrogacy is not.

The USA and India remain popular destinations where commercial surrogacy is allowed, though countries such as Canada, Nepal, Russia and Mexico are also starting to emerge as popular alternatives.

There are many reasons why hopeful parents choose to go overseas. In some cases, parents are unable to find an altruistic surrogate who is willing to carry their child for them in the UK.

In others, parents may feel that a voluntary arrangement would be unsuitable or that an international arrangement could produce a quicker or more secure outcome.

Awareness about international surrogacy is also growing and medical tourism is perceived to be more accessible than it once was.

It is essential however that people obtain independent legal advice, both in this country and overseas, before they enter into a surrogacy arrangement abroad.

Parents should take steps to find out how surrogacy is regulated in the destination country they plan to travel to. There is a lack of international regulation and different countries adopt different approaches, meaning careful research should be undertaken from the outset. Enquiries should also be made to make sure that a reputable clinic is used.

It is important to be wary of unethical or unregulated clinics purporting to sell surrogacy solutions, and don’t rush into things without being satisfied that surrogacy services are safe and well run.

Although many parents have successfully built families through international surrogacy arrangements, the process can be complicated. The UK Government have highlighted some of the common pitfalls that parents need to be aware of in their report ‘Surrogacy Overseas’.

In particular, the process for returning a child to the UK can take longer than parents expect and in some cases parents should be prepared to stay overseas for months after their child is born.

Parents should make sure they understand what nationality their child will be at birth, what steps they need to take to obtain a passport for their child and whose details need to be entered on the passport application form.

In some circumstances it may be necessary to apply for a visa to obtain the necessary permissions for a child to enter the UK.

After returning to the UK, a court application for a parental order is also needed to transfer legal rights from the surrogate to the intended parents. This provides a means for the intended parents to obtain legal parenthood and parental responsibility.

The application has to be made within 6 months from a child’s birth and complications can arise if this window is missed.

As part of the application the parents will need to demonstrate that the foreign surrogate consents to the parental order being made. The court also has to approve payments which are made to the surrogate.
http://www.gaystarnews.com/

Surrogacy is a new form of exploitation of women

Surrogacy does not constitute any progress or social achievement. On the contrary, it is a new form of exploitation of women and trafficking that turns children into commercial products. It is a flagrant violation of the dignity of both mother and child.

Surrogacy is presented as another form of assisted reproduction as an altruistic treatment to overcome infertility and help couples who can not have children by giving them the opportunity to realize the dream of parenthood. But the reality is quite different.

Up to six people can claim the paternity of every baby born to a surrogate: the genetic or biological mother (egg donor), the pregnant mother (surrogate), the woman who has commissioned the baby, the genetic father (sperm donor), the husband of the pregnant mother (who has the presumption of paternity), and the man who commissioned the baby.

This, apart from being the source of more than probable legal disputes, prevents the child knowing his origin and identity, contrary to what is established in Articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Moreover, surrogacy contracts are undoubtedly a way of exploitation of women who sell or rent their bodies for money, or some kind of compensation. States that expressly allowed surrogacy in their legal system are the United States, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Kazakhstan.

While in Europe, surrogacy is banned in most countries, this is a booming business in a number of countries around the world where agencies profit at the expense of the suffering of the infertile couples and the vulnerability of women in disadvantaged situations, in order to develop a whole business of selection and quality control of women and prospective babies.
http://www.theleader.info/

UK citizens are the most likely in Europe to go abroad to find a surrogate mother

Britons are the most likely European citizens to use a foreign surrogate to have a baby, fuelling a global trade where individuals pay up to £85,000 per child, research shows.

Increasing numbers of infertile straight couples and gay men and women are resorting to paying a surrogate in countries across the world to help them have a baby – a practice that is banned in the UK.

Figures show that 271 British couples or individuals have had a baby using a paid surrogate over the last year. The findings will be presented at a conference next week organised by the Families Through Surrogacy (FTS) group, which compiled the data.

UK citizens are also statistically the most likely Europeans to engage in commercial surrogacy, according to the figures.

In the UK altruistic surrogacy is legal, but paying for the service is not. People will often choose commercial surrogacy because it is quicker and a more secure route to getting a baby than using an “altruistic” surrogate.

Paul Gittins, spokesman for the FTS’s upcoming conference, told The Independent that commercial surrogacy is on the rise owing to its increasing accessibility and the general growth in medical tourism.

“Surrogacy has been growing year-on-on in Britain and internationally, but there are no specific numbers for surrogacy in the UK,” he said.

“From a UK perspective, altruistic surrogacy, which is the only option available here, can be long and drawn out and there are no legal protections in place.

“With commercial surrogacy there is an arrangement and you know where you are,” he added.

Despite the apparent straightforwardness of commercial surrogacy, the UK Foreign Office cautions against thinking it can be an easy route to parenthood.

A report into surrogacy overseas warns: “International surrogacy is a complex area. The process for getting your child back to the UK can be very long and complicated, and can take several months to complete.”

Louisa Ghevaert, a leading UK surrogacy lawyer and family law expert agrees. "The decision to embark on a surrogacy journey is one of the most important decisions anyone can make.

"It's vital for intended parents to tackle the legal issues from the outset to avoid the legal pitfalls and protect their much wanted family,” she added.

Professor Allan Pacey, a fertility expert at Sheffield University, believes the international surrogacy trade is part of a wider phenomenon of “medical globalisation”.

“With increasing opportunities for travel and the lower cost, combined with easily accessible information over the internet about what is available, some couples are looking outside their national borders for solutions to their infertility,” he told the Observer.

“Surrogacy is legal in the UK, but we suffer from a chronic shortage of women willing to do it. So I think it’s inevitable that women who need it will look elsewhere,” he added.
http://www.independent.co.uk/

Medical tourism in Ukraine could change services’ quality

About 50 thousand foreigners visit Ukrainian health care institutions annually. Ukrainian medicine market is very attractive for foreigners - price is much lower than at home, and highly qualified specialists in the field of medicine are known worldwide by their great skills. Now when Ukrainian currency has depreciated it has become much cheaper to treat in Ukraine for many European and American citizens than at homeland.

IVF and surrogacy are among the most popular medical services foreigners look for in Ukraine. High popularity of these programs is caused by the fact that in Ukraine, in vitro fertilization is much cheaper, and the existing regulatory framework is much more liberal than in European states. In particular, Ukrainian law allows egg donation and surrogacy conduction. Moreover, surrogate motherhood programs (with donor eggs as well) have no limitations in particular age that is out-of-support among international medical community.

According to the observations of doctors who work in center for human reproduction BioTexCom, ART programs have been becoming increasingly popular among patients from Western Europe, Israel, USA and UK. Also residents of the Emirates and Asia have become habitual patients at the BioTexCom clinic. During the recent years, clinic employs translators and managers with knowledge of Chinese and Arabic languages to communicate with potential patients on the appropriate level.

Every year, BioTexCom center welcomes more and more infertile couples from Europe, Asia and America. The increasing flow of patients gives a boost to the development and improvement of the clinic. Extension interpreters’ staff, equipping laboratories and training staff, development of new technologies and ART methods improvement - all these and many others are actively held within the walls of BioTexCom center today.

Company has already developed new medical packages for surrogacy, which will be presented in the nearest future. These are "all inclusive" packages priced at € 29.900, € 39.900 and a VIP package at the cost of € 49.900.

You can always get to know more interesting information about programs visiting the official website of the clinic or communicating with the center managers, who will professionally answer all questions you are interested at. BioTexCom! There is no absolute infertility!

Woman who lost 8 babies before hysterectomy asks public to help her make surrogacy dream come true

With every miracle pregnancy story she reads, and with every friend who announces they're expecting, Jo Hilton can't help but feel a deep sense of grief.

Jo will never be able to conceive and carry a baby to term after an emergency hysterectomy was carried out on her four years ago.

It is something she describes as "the hardest decision of my life."

The procedure came after years of devastating losses and health scares which have resulted in her not being able to work and her husband becoming a carer figure.

But they have one reason to remain optimistic.

The surrogate they are now hoping will carry their baby has become a close friend to them, and has offered up her own eggs, sparing the couple the cost of donor eggs.

This means the amount they now hope to reach through their GoFundMe page is £10,000 - rather than £15,000.

Jo is hoping to reach this goal by January, and help her reconcile fifteen years of devastating fertility issues and personal tragedies.

Tragic losses
The ex-council case worker was just nineteen when she had her first ectopic pregnancy, and still remembers the trauma of it.

"April 2, 1999. I was 20 minutes away from death and I was thirteen weeks pregnant. I will never forget that day."

In 2002, Jo found out she was pregnant again: "I prayed and prayed that the second pregnancy would not be an ectopic."

"I had never got to have a funeral for my first baby from that ectopic. If you have ever seen a 13 week foetus there is no denying it is a baby and not a sac."

"I had a priest come around at the hospital, but I never received her remains so her ashes were scattered in hospital grounds which is the usual thing to do apparently."

To her utter distress, her second pregnancy was ectopic.

Married to her first husband at the time, Jo recalls: "I was on the pill the whole time. None of the pregnancies were planned, but would have been wanted."

There followed five miscarriages in two years, and a breakdown in her marriage, leading her to file for divorce in 2005 at just age twenty-five.

The physical cost of the trauma
Although she was trying to get back on her feet, five months after her parting ways with her first husband she met James, an artist, online.

"He is the true love of my life and likewise. We were both surprised by the way we met but things fell into place without us really trying.

"So of course we wanted our own family. I had told James of my fertility troubles when we met and we knew we would face it all together."

Although she now had James by her side, Jo's fertility troubles worsened - and all the strain she'd been under impacted on her mental health.

After being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Jo needed further surgery to remove her ovaries. Shortly after she was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Then in 2006 Jo was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, a painful condition which can prevent oral contraception from working in some women.

Jo now knew how she was getting pregnant whilst taking precautions but it was of no comfort to her.

Losing independence
Around the time her PTSD diagnosis prompted Jo to get seek counselling, James lost the aunt who had brought him up.

His aunt had, however, left him a sizeable inheritance, which allowed them to get married.

Although she is grateful for the safety net the money gave them, Jo is aware they are now in a position of asking for the necessary funds for surrogacy, and acknowledges they could have managed their finances better.

"Of course, looking back we made mistakes and were very naive about it all, and we admit we wasted some of the money. But back then surrogacy was never really in our mind set.

"We had hoped to still be able to conceive."

The couple did conceive in 2008, but it ended in a sixth and devastating miscarriage.

"In some ways this hurt more than the others because it was with my soul mate. We were distraught."

There was further sadness for Jo when she was discovered she had osteoarthritis and would need, at age 27, to use a walking stick. She was also no longer able to work.

It was a dent to her pride: "Having to stop working was the greatest adjustment of my life. I had worked from the age of 12.

"Health wise things just kept snowballing and it felt I wasn't in control of anything.

"We could not or would not claim benefits due to the amount we had inhertied."

Jo and James decided to look into IVF but were dealt a further blow as Jo's BMI was deemed too high.

"The hardest decision of my life."
By this time, her periods had become unbearably painful and heavy, and after scans and testing, she was told she needed a radical hysterectomy at age 31.

"I was booked in for Wednesday 6th October 2010. I dreaded it because everything was going to be so final.

"I remember a few days before the surgery I went into a department store to pick up a few bits and had to walk through the baby department.

"I just froze, started stroking a baby quilt and looked at all the clothes and cribs. I ended up in tears and James had to take me back to the car."

Surrogacy

There was a glimmer of hope three months later when a lady came forward via Facebook to offer being a surrogate for them, but when she herself fell pregnant, it was no longer an option.

In spite of feeling happy for her, Jo did have to contend with her own sadness.

In the meantime they looked into fostering and adoption: "We have a lovely home and lots of love to give.

"We were gutted when they said no due to my being on morphine based drugs."

A year later they had to cope with more disappointment when they were let down by a friend who offered to carry their baby.

This prompted Jo and James to go via a surrogacy agency. Their lifeline has been the potential surrogate who, in offering her eggs, has reduced their costs by £5000.

Now they are hoping to meet this target via their gofundme page and have just over £7000 to go before January 2016.

Jo already feels an immense sense of gratitude to those who have helped them.

"We have had so much love and support it has been amazing."
"Of course there will be some people who disagree, and that is fine, but they are not walking in our shoes."

"I know people have said, 'how can she look after a child if she can't work?'

"But the answer is 'being disabled doesn't make you incapable' and there are millions of disabled people who are very successful parents.

"If we are lucky enough to have a child through surrogacy then our child will have it drilled into them that work brings you great rewards.

"We are selling everything we can to get the money together, but we will have a shortfall, so if people can empathise and help then that is amazing.

"The surrogacy world is awesome and the surrogates who do this and turn their own lives upside down to help couples like us are truly amazing and we have met so many great people some of which are now family friends."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/

Surrogacy for UK couples

A record number of British children were conceived via surrogacy, according to the official data. The number of children born with the help of surrogate mothers abroad and registered in the UK during the last six years increased by 265%.

Surrogacy is prohibited in the UK. Advertising of surrogacy service and surrogate mothers’ selection are also banned in the UK. Only non-commercial surrogacy is permitted - surrogate mother does not receive money for childbearing. It’s rather difficult to find a woman who will agree to carry a child for the infertile couple. Living standards in the United Kingdom is rather high so women there are not interested at such procedures.  

Therefore infertile British families go abroad in order to use assisted methods of reproductive medicine. Ukrainian center for human reproduction BioTexCom is popular medical destination for Englishmen. Center welcomes more than 90 couples from the United Kingdom each year. At first most Europeans are afraid of traveling to Ukraine – third world county, military actions in the Eastern Ukraine, lame-duck economy, etc. But visiting Ukraine, foreigners see just another picture, with own eyes – extremely beautiful state, friendly people, and high level of reproductive medicine.

Net promoter of Ukrainian surrogacy is surrogate mothers. Surrogacy is allowed in Ukraine. And there are a lot of middle class women who agree to carry a healthy child for the infertile family from UK. These women are healthy, beautiful and educated. They participate in such medical programs due to the own needs – lack of money for close to her person’s treatment, own child’s education, accommodation problems, and others.

In Ukraine, UK citizens conduct the surrogacy program absolutely legally. Now they can receive Emergency Travel Document (sometimes known as an emergency passport). This document lets British national couples leave Ukraine with a newborn baby conceived via surrogacy in shortest terms. Reaching home couple submits documents for parental order in order to become legal parents and receive child’s registration as a UK citizen.  

It must be noted that year ago it was much harder to receive official registration in the UK after child’s birth in Ukraine via surrogacy. Earlier parents should wait about six months in order to register their child. Now the waiting time had been reduced to two months. The UK legal solution for resolving parenthood in surrogacy cases is a parental order.  This is a court order which makes the intended parents the legal parents of the child.  

Once a parental order is made, the birth will be re-registered to record both intended parents as the legal parents, and a new birth certificate will be issued. Before leaving Ukrainian clinic, parents receive surrogate mother’s official deny declaration (it confirms surrogate mother has no rights and obligations concerning child she gave birth).

A great number of UK families visit BioTexCom and successfully come back come with their newborn. Here you can see one of the stories told by one of British couples after their visit to the BioTexCom.

http://mother-surrogate.info/uk-couple-tell-success-surrogacy-story/

     

Need an egg donor? Don't look in Israel

Those are how many Jewish women in Israel donated eggs in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively, since the Israeli government allowed compensation for the process, in order to encourage women to have it done.

Yet supply cannot meet demand in Israel and each year, hundreds of Israeli women who cannot conceive using their own oocytes (eggs) must travel abroad to purchase eggs donated by other (usually younger) women, and transfer the embryos – fertilized with their partner’s or a donor’s sperm -- into their wombs. (The younger the egg, the better the chance of a healthy pregnancy, irrespective of the age of the mother carrying the baby, up till about age 45.)

In 2010 the Knesset enacted laws to regulate egg donation. In 2013, hoping to encourage oocyte donation, an amendment was passed, increasing the money an egg donor receives per egg-donation cycle to NIS 20,302 (roughly $5,000) – of which roughly half is actual payment by the egg recipient, and half is reimbursement of the donor's costs.

Any unmarried woman aged 21 to 35 may donate eggs; or any woman (outside that age range) who is undergoing IVF, the Health Ministry says. Before the process can start, a hospital committee will interview the potential donor to ensure she is embarking on donation of her own free will. A preliminary interview with a psychologist is also mandatory.

A married woman may donate eggs, with special permission, and with the stipulation that she not be related to the egg recipient (or designated father). The donor must also agree in advance to having her personal information included in a Health Ministry database.

No more than three cycles of egg retrieval may be done, with a gap of 180 days between each "donation" cycle. And finally, the donor may not be advised who will be getting her eggs, barring special circumstances.

Still dependent on foreign eggs

Yet Israeli women remain dependent on "foreign" eggs. In 2005 the Health Ministry approved six foreign clinics working in conjunction with Israeli hospitals and medical centers, to provide egg donation services (retrieve the ova, combine with provided sperm, then transfer the resultant embryos in their Israeli patients). Three of these foreign clinics are in Ukraine, two in the Czech Republic, and one in New Jersey.

Exact figures of how many women undergo this procedure, and its success rates, are not tallied. There is also no general registry of Israeli children born from donor eggs.

Since a single "cohort" of eggs retrieved from a one donor may be shared between two to three women, Israel could have genetically related children who don't even know it. (Egg-donor doctors say the chances of that are tiny.)

The cost of the entire process, from paying the donor, to retrieval, to embryo transfer and travel too may run anywhere from $8,000-$12,000 per cycle; Israel's national health insurance covers part of the cost for two donation-embryo implantation cycles, for qualifying citizens.

But cultural opposition in Israel to donating eggs might be hard to change, partly because of past scandals.

In 2000, police investigated claims that certain Israeli doctors were over-stimulating the ovaries of patients to induce over-production of eggs, which they then sold without permission. One doctor was suspended, another reprimanded.

Israeli doctors have also been associated with scandals overseas: in 2009 and 2013 Romania charged Israeli doctors, in two separate incidences, of exceeding the boundaries of their local operating permits and illegally trading in human eggs, harvesting them without permits from Romanian women for sale to other women, including Israelis. Both times, doctors denied any wrongdoing.

Payment per cycle

Egg donation laws vary enormously by country: In Germany, Italy, Norway and Austria it's illegal. In France, it’s only legal if it’s anonymous and gratuitous—without any compensation for the egg donor.

In Canada it’s legal only if it’s non-anonymous and gratuitous, meaning free and the donor is known.

In Spain, the Czech Republic and South Africa, it’s legal only if it’s anonymous, but egg donors may be compensated. In the UK donors may be compensated, but it’s legal only if it’s non-anonymous. And in the U.S. it’s legal whether or not it is anonymous, and egg donors may be compensated – the American Society for Reproductive Medicine mandates between $5,000-$10,000 for the donor (not including travel or medication).

In countries where compensation is permitted, it is for the medical procedure rather than the eggs, since the sale of body parts is illegal in much of the world. Put otherwise, donors are paid for their cycles, regardless of how many eggs are produced.

Quest for a Jewish egg

Cost, time and anonymity of donors may present barriers for women around the world who want to use egg donors. Information on the donor may be sparse. In the U.S., and in foreign clinics used by Israel, donor profiles are quite in-depth, providing everything from IQ, psychological profile, baby pictures and family history, instead of just the basics, like eye and hair color, age, blood type and profession.

Cost can be a barrier too. In the U.S. the procedure can cost more than $20,000. (Egg donor compensation cannot exceed $10,000 but the clinic itself costs thousands of dollars).

Eggs from Jews, like from other sought-after groups such as Ivy League graduates, can cost a premium. For example, A Jewish Blessing, a U.S. nurse-run organization matching Jewish egg donors and surrogates to parents, charges a $7,000 matching fee, in addition to the $8,000 fee to the donor, and another $2,000-5,000 in various expenses, including a Beit Din - rabbinical court to confirm the donor is Jewish.

Religious leaders in Israel would like to see more Israeli Jews donate eggs, especially since the halachic status of egg donor babies is disputed. Meanwhile, since it's all but impossible to get a "Jewish egg" in Israel, some rabbis hold that only the woman actually carrying the baby needs to be Jewish for the baby to be Jewish.

Traveling for donated eggs

Meanwhile, since egg donation in Israel remains so rare, Israeli clinics must resort to foreign eggs, and different clinics handle their foreign programs differently.

Typically, Israeli clinics handling egg donation take groups of women abroad for the procedure. Sperm is collected, frozen and sent in advance to fertilize the eggs retrieved from the foreign donors. Israeli women receiving the eggs may travel abroad for 2-3 days, with hotel and ground transportation arranged by the Israeli clinic.

Some, like Dr. Jacob Levron, take over the local (Ukrainian) clinic one weekend a month. He brings his own embryologist, and performs the embryo transfer himself. Others, like the doctors at Hadassah Medical Center, oversee the local (Czech) clinic, but do not perform procedures.

Most clinics offer six donor eggs for about $10,000 dollars, but some (like Levron) offer a guarantee that there will be enough for two embryo transfers, if the first transfer does not result in a viable pregnancy.

For an additional fee, a woman can buy the entire "cohort" – i.e., all the eggs retrieved from a donor during one particular cycle to use for future use. (Although this is no guarantee she has exclusivity over the donor’s eggs: a donor can do up to three cycles with one clinic.)

In recent years, Israeli doctors have been able to transport fresh embryos back to Israel, to perform the implantation procedure in Israel. (These embryos, transported in a CO2 incubator, are not frozen, but are considered fresh, almost equivalent to being in situ.) In an October, 2014 paper, Levron and his partner Prof. David Bider concluded that transporting human embryos using portable a CO2 incubator is safe and does not jeopardize their developmental potential.

Egg donation is not a guarantee for a baby – although it usually offers a higher success rate than an older woman using her own eggs. Levron estimates the success rate at 40%-50%. Prof. Ariel Revel of Hadassah Medical Center cites a 47% live baby rate.

In 2012, the Society for American Reproductive Technology cited a 56.6% live birth rate using fresh embryos, and 37.2% for frozen embryos (which are easier to coordinate, because the donor and recipient do not need to be coordinated together).

Of course women seeking cheaper options outside their home countries can go directly to any clinic they choose, and deal directly with the local staff; or they can undergo their procedures in approved clinics under the wing of an Israeli practitioner, says Revel, head of Ovum Donation (Fertility) & Egg Preservation at Hadassah, the only public hospital approved for IVF (Shaare Zedek Medical Center doctors work with Hadassah).

“We’ve had patients from the U.S. and Canada, Australia, France and Russia,” he says. “They want the expertise of Hadassah and its long tradition of IVF,” he said, noting the Israeli prices are cheaper than going directly through the Czech Republic clinic.

To tell, or not to tell

Israeli clinics do their best to match donor characteristics with the parents’ request – including height, weight, hair color, eye color, age, profession, education and blood type. But the available pool of donors is constrained by their region of origin. Ukraine may not have too many olive-skinned brunettes, for instance.

In Israel, egg donor information is private – only the clinics know the donor, which cannot be disclosed to the parent or child. This however is not always the case overseas - for instance, in England. “We get a lot of patients from the U.K. because at the age of 18 children can find out who their genetic parents are, by law,” said Dr. Jacob Levron.

When it comes to telling the child, opinions differ again. In America, fertility organizations recommend disclosure when conception involves a donor (sperm donor, egg donor, embryo donor, surrogate, etc). “With few exceptions, in the best interests of your child and your family as a whole, it is best if your child grew up with the knowledge that they are not genetically related to one (or both) of their parents but still loved,” Resolve, an American infertility association advises, noting that secrets can be damaging, and can lead to feelings of betrayal.

But in Israel, many prefer to keep it secret, Revel says, although he personally recommends disclosure.

“Why would you tell anyone?” one egg donation nurse coordinator says. “That’s between you and your husband. Israel is not like America. People can be very judgmental.”
http://www.haaretz.com/