Growing Surrogacy Trade in Asia
- 30
- March
Growing Surrogacy Trade in Asia has not slowed down even though countries like India, Thailand, and Cambodia all banned the surrogacy trade. Instead, it has fueled surrogacy in other countries such as Laos, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, and even Kenya. The very high cost of doing surrogacy in the U.S. has intended parents seeking other options in these countries to have their baby. For this phenomenon to occur, one must look at India as the country that started this revolution.
In India, in early 2000, fertility doctors started recognizing the need for cheaper alternatives for intended parents to have their baby through surrogacy. Since India is a poor country, but does have an advanced medical industry, surrogacy clinics around India started opening up to cater to international couples wanting to do surrogacy. The Indian government actually formally commercialized and legalized surrogacy and so intended parents around the world started to flood India to have their baby through an Indian surrogate mother where the costs were a fraction of that in the U.S. The statistics showed that surrogacy in India became a 1 billion dollar a year industry until India banned gay surrogacy in 2012 and then followed up by completely banning it to all couples in March 2017.
Now, couples have found other options in countries such as Laos where surrogacy is still a grey area. However, the question here remains, “Is banning surrogacy really the right thing to do?” Many support groups outside the fertility field argue that surrogacy is not moral and it can take advantage of the poor surrogate mother leaving her with little decision making such as having a cesarean birth as opposed to a natural birth. Another argument is that many think that often the surrogate mother is not paid well. Others argue that’s not the case. Many couples have developed a relationship with their surrogate mother and continue to financially support her even after she gave birth to their baby. They think of it as a win-win situation for all. The poor surrogate mother gets money that will elevate her life for the better, the couples get their baby, and the fertility clinics get money to expand into the latest fertility technology which in turn will make success rates higher.
Growing surrogacy trade in Asia has evolved into a traveling system where surrogate mothers start treatment in one country and have the delivery in another. Either way, it seems that when there is a need, there is a way. It’s simple economics, really. Demand and supply. As long as there is a demand, there will be a supply in place one way or another.
Our team in Laos
We have a fully staffed and very capable team in Laos including a Patient Manager, recruiters, and nurses who care for our surrogate mothers. Feel free to explore our website. You will find extremely informative information on our services. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us anytime. You can call us at 1.949.783.6827. You can also send us an e-mail at info@laosfertility.com or contact us here https://laosfertility.com/contact-us/
