Hyderabad: In view of the recent surrogacy scam in Hyderabad clinics, it is essential to understand the ethics of the procedure.
In this regard, Siasat.com spoke to fertility experts.
What is surrogacy
The process of gestational surrogacy involves legal and medical steps, starting with legal agreements and background checks for both parties, followed by medical procedures like IVF to create embryos from intended parents’ gametes or donors.
A surrogate, sometimes also called a gestational carrier, is a woman who conceives, carries and gives birth to a child for another person or couple (intended parents). The surrogate agrees to give the child to that person or couple after the birth.
Ethics of surrogacy
Addressing the ethics of surrogacy, Director Ferty9, Dr Jyothi C Budi said, “In certain cases when couples are unable to have a baby naturally, they are advised to opt for IVF or surrogacy. During IVF, the egg and the sperm from the couple are handleld outside the body.”
When the gametes of the couples are handled outside the body it should be done ethically. To monitor whether things are being done ethically, rules and regulations are important. “The Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Board of India has prescribed the ART law which is called the ART Regulatory Act, 2021,” the doctor said.
Explaining the role of regulations in fertility treatment, the doctor said, “The ART Regulatory Act, 2021 lays down the standard procedure to monitor all the IVF centers in the country.”
Speaking of signs to check for while checking whether the IVF centers are compliant with the laws, the doctor said, “Couples need to choose the right center, they must opt for a center which is licensed by the state authority. The IVF centres must obtain a level 2 license from the state government.”
She further explained that the license of the clinic is generally displayed in the OPD. Budi added that clinics providing a process named IUI must obtain a level 1 license from the government. “If the couples want to be absolutely sure about the IVF process, they should opt for a clinic which offers Radio frequency Identification witness system(RI).”
Under the RI system, a QR code is generated and handed over to the parents, which matches their own DNA. It ensures that there is no mismatch in the gamete. The RI system helps in the integration of the parents’ genes with those of the baby via a software.
IUI is the process in which the husband’s sperm is process and inserted in the wife’s womb. “This process increases the chance of pregnancy by almost10 times compared to natural pregnancy,” the doctor explained.
Prevention of mix up
Speaking of prevention of mismatch, Dr Sarada Vani N from Yashoda Hospital in Hyderabad said it is essential to choose the right centres which are compliant with the laws.
Explaining the donor programmes in surrogacy, the doctor said, “A donor is required when the woman can’t conceive due to factors like age, previous complications in pregnancy, genetic abnormalities.” The donor is also essential in case the husband faces azoospermia.
Azoospermia is a condition causing a lack of sperm in semen, leading to infertility, and is categorized into obstructive (sperm production is normal but blocked) and non-obstructive (sperm production is impaired) types. Symptoms are minimal, but may include infertility, testicular pain, or swelling. Causes range from genetic conditions, hormonal issues, infections, or injuries to factors like certain medications, surgeries, and excessive alcohol or tobacco use.
Addressing the significance of counselling, the doctor said, “Counselling is important the couple should know what their pros and cons are, what is the success rate all these things must be considered before opting for IVF process.”
Surrogacy scam in Hyderabad clinics
In the month of August a surrogacy scam in Hyderabad was exposed after a fertility center was busted for buying babies from rural women and selling them to clients in Hyderabad.
Universal Srushti Fertility Centre was suspected of being part of a baby-selling network in league with other clinics in Hyderabad, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam.
The racket was exposed following reports of child trafficking, deceitful DNA matching, and illegitimate surrogacy operations.
