The surrogacy rules amended by the Centre in 2022 allows married couples to use donor eggs or sperm if a partner suffers from a medical condition. The district medical board must certify that either the husband or wife suffers from a medical condition necessitating the use of donor gametes.
Surrogacy rules in India
Surrogacy using donor gametes is allowed when the District Medical Board certifies that either husband or wife of the intending couple suffers from a medical condition necessitating use of donor gametes,” the notification stated.
The new rules stated that surrogacy using donor gamete is allowed with the condition that the child born through surrogacy must have one gamete from the intended parents.
Surrogacy is not an option for couples who have medical problems or are unable to produce their own gametes.
In order to avail of surrogacy procedures, single women (widows or divorcees) must use self-eggs and donor sperm.
Last year, the Supreme Court received petitions from women across the country after allowing a woman with a rare congenital disorder to undergo surrogacy using donor eggs.
In March 2023, the Centre issued a notification banning the use of donor gametes for surrogacy.
What is Surrogacy?
Surrogacy is a medical procedure in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another individual or couple. During this process, an embryo created through in vitro fertilization is implanted into the surrogate’s uterus, allowing her to carry the pregnancy to term.
Surrogacy can be used as a method for individuals who are unable to conceive naturally, either due to medical reasons such as infertility or genetic disorders, or personal circumstances such as same-sex couples or single parents wishing to have children.
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