Central government changed surrogacy rules; Consent to use donor sperm or eggs

The notification issued on Wednesday said that if the District Medical Board certifies that the medical condition of the husband or wife of the intending couple is such that he or she requires the use of the donor organ, then surrogacy using the donor organ will be approved. . It states that surrogacy using donor gametes will be approved with the condition that the child born through surrogacy must have at least one gamete of the intended pair. This means that if both spouses have medical problems due to which they are unable to use their surrogacy, they cannot opt ​​for surrogacy.

The notification states that single women (widowed or divorced) undergoing surrogacy will have to use their own eggs and donor sperm to avail the benefits of the surrogacy process. The central government had issued a notification in March 2023 banning the use of donor organs for couples seeking surrogacy. This meant that both couples had to be willing for surrogacy to take place. But the Supreme Court last year allowed a woman with a congenital disorder to avail surrogacy using donor eggs.

After this many women filed a petition in the Supreme Court. In December last year, the Supreme Court had given permission to more than two dozen petitions to use donor eggs for surrogacy. The court said that such rules would defeat the very purpose of surrogacy. In January, the Supreme Court had told the Center that all these women are knocking on the doors of the Supreme Court, why is it not taking a decision in this matter. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said that the government is reconsidering the amendments made last year in the surrogacy law. After this, a fresh notification to amend the rules has been issued.