Telangana: Police hunt for unit that cheated surrogate mother

Hyderabad: Fertility centres in the city are being checked by the district medical and health officials to find out details of the embryo implant in the surrogate mother who has been abandoned by the commissioning parents.  The officials visited Padmaja Fertility Centre and its records were checked. The commissioning parents are a couple from Guntur but their identity is not known to the surrogate mother. She claims that the agent Radha who was with her would talk to the parents. The district medical and health officials have kept the surrogate mother at Government Maternity Hospital at Nayapul and are not allowing anyone to meet her. Her husband has gone to Mahbubnagar to get his relatives who can take care of her.  

A senior officer said, “We have visited two fertility centres and the information will now be handed over to higher health officials as there is still no clarity in the case as to where the embryo transplant was done.” Health officials said that they will have to take the help of the police as further questioning will have to be done. Meanwhile, the mother is not allowed to meet the girl child at Niloufer Hospital. Doctors at Niloufer hospital stated that the child is on the road to recovery. The status of the child is the biggest concern in Assisted Reproductive Techniques as it is the infant who are left without home.

Dr Roya Rozati, senior in-vitro fertilization specialist explained, “The abandoning of surrogate mother and child is one of the major concerns and that has been highlighted in the pending bill. There are provisions which are required to safeguard the interest of not only the surrogate mother but also the child.” While this case has brought to light these major concerns, the health officials state that it can’t be treated as an isolated case and there will be many more. They have asked the government hospital gynaecologists to be vigilant and report immediately in the case of suspicious cases. The government gynaecologists are the point of contact with pregnant mothers and often they confide their woes during examination and also during the process of delivery. It was during this time that the surrogate mother had revealed and the doctors at Petlaburj hospital alerted the health officials.

Fertility centres in the city are being checked by the district medical and health officials to find out details of the embryo implant in the surrogate mother who has been abandoned by the commissioning parents.  The officials visited Padmaja Fertility Centre and its records were checked. The commissioning parents are a couple from Guntur but their identity is not known to the surrogate mother. She claims that the agent Radha who was with her would talk to the parents. The district medical and health officials have kept the surrogate mother at Government Maternity Hospital at Nayapul and are not allowing anyone to meet her. Her husband has gone to Mahbubnagar to get his relatives who can take care of her.  

A senior officer said, “We have visited two fertility centres and the information will now be handed over to higher health officials as there is still no clarity in the case as to where the embryo transplant was done.” Health officials said that they will have to take the help of the police as further questioning will have to be done. Meanwhile, the mother is not allowed to meet the girl child at Niloufer Hospital. Doctors at Niloufer hospital stated that the child is on the road to recovery. The status of the child is the biggest concern in Assisted Reproductive Techniques as it is the infant who are left without home.

Dr Roya Rozati, senior in-vitro fertilization specialist explained, “The abandoning of surrogate mother and child is one of the major concerns and that has been highlighted in the pending bill. There are provisions which are required to safeguard the interest of not only the surrogate mother but also the child.” While this case has brought to light these major concerns, the health officials state that it can’t be treated as an isolated case and there will be many more. They have asked the government hospital gynaecologists to be vigilant and report immediately in the case of suspicious cases. The government gynaecologists are the point of contact with pregnant mothers and often they confide their woes during examination and also during the process of delivery. It was during this time that the surrogate mother had revealed and the doctors at Petlaburj hospital alerted the health officials.