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Latest Surrogacy News
Twins for surrogate
grandmother
January 30, 2004
BBC
Surrogacy by
relatives is uncommon
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A woman has given birth to
her own grandchildren after becoming a surrogate for her
daughter.
A London-based couple
enlisted the help of their 43-year-old relative, who
lives in Gujarat, India.
Fertilised eggs from
the couple were implanted, and twin babies - a healthy
boy and girl- were born in India yesterday.
The daughter could not
have children naturally because she did not have a womb
of her own.
Surrogacy involving
relatives is not uncommon - in the UK, non-related
surrogates can be used provided no money apart from
genuine expenses, normally between £4,000 and £10,000 a
time, changes hands.
In this case, the
couple could not find a suitable non-related surrogate
in the UK.
Society fears
Surrogacy is not
completely accepted by Indian society - the grandmother
told a newspaper she feared that agreeing to carry her
daughter's children might jeopardise the marriage
prospects of her other two daughters.
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It's an act of remarkable altruism
Professor Lord
Robert Winston, Hammersmith Hospital, London
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She has remained anonymous, and
stayed away from home in the run-up to the birth.
The couple now intend
to bring the babies back to live in the UK.
Dr Nayana Patel, the
fertility specialist who implanted the embryos into the
grandmother, said that the family were "overjoyed".
She said: "Finding a
surrogate mother was almost impossible in the UK, so
they came to India.
"Initially there was an
inhibition on the part of the grandmother but eventually
she agreed."
Both children,
delivered by caesarean section, are doing well, as is
their grandmother.
Professor Lord Robert
Winston, from Hammersmith Hospital, said he had few
"difficulties" with the concept of a grandmother giving
birth to her grandchildren.
He said: "It's an act
of remarkable altruism."
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