Donor gametes are allowed for single women, divorcees but here is a catch

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has modified the surrogacy rules (2022) to let married couples avail an egg or sperm of a donor in case one of the partners has a medical condition.

As per the new law, the District Medical Board has to certify that either the husband or wife is suffering from a medical condition necessitating the use of donor gamete.

The surrogacy using donor gamete is allowed subject to the condition that the child to be born through surrogacy must have at least one gamete from the intending couple, it stated.

Before the passing of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021, restrictions on the definition, process and rights of the intending couple, intending mother, surrogate and child were not established, informs Mr Nitiz Murdia, the co-founder and managing director at Indira IVF.

In light of the mushrooming of IVF and surrogacy clinics in India – the regulations to govern the space remained grey. With the upgraded Act now, the following factors have been established:

What is the eligibility criteria?

For couples
1. The couple must be of Indian origin.
2. The couple must be legally married.
3. The female partner must be between the ages of 23 and 50, while the male partner must be between the ages of 26 and 55 on the day of registration.
4. The couple must not have any surviving child either biologically, through adoption, or via surrogacy.

Additionally, they must not have a child who is mentally or physically challenged, or suffering from a life-threatening disorder without a permanent cure. The amendment came after the Supreme Court last year received petitions from women across the country