Surrogacy in India becoming more popular
By Danell Swim
February 29, 2008
CALIFORNIA-BASED Clara and Jim Perry, both in their thirties, were childless despite five years of marriage due to infertility. A Google search led them to discover Anand, in the innards of Gujarat, a town that’s a mere blip on the global radar, but fast acquiring renown for its world-class in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures.
Late last year, the Perrys flew down to this unremarkable town in west India to fulfill their long-cherished dream of choosing a surrogate for their baby!
The Californian duo are a fast multiplying breed of childless foreigner couples hotfooting to India for a surrogate. Though no official figures are available, Indian medical practitioners guesstimate that nearly a third of surrogate childbirths taking place worldwide are currently happening in India.
“After IT services,” says Dr. Nisha Kathuria, a Delhi-based gynecologist, “it’s now the turn of babies to be outsourced from India.” Adds obstetrician Dr. Tripat Kaur of Max Hospital, “In these times of globalisation and market-driven economies, there’s considerable demand for this service.”
Indeed. In fact the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), India’s premier medical research body, estimates that partly due to the upward spiral in the number of surrogacy outsourcing cases from India, the reproductive sector in the country will be worth a whopping $6 billion by 2008.
Also, a report by India Brand Equity Foundation and Ernst & Young 2007 states that outsourced healthcare will employ nearly 2,00,000 people in India by 2008, up from the current 20,000-odd employed in the healthcare/pharmaceutical business process outsourcing space.
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