Joining Asian Surrogacy
Membership of Asian Surrogacy is completely free for Surrogate Mothers.
If you would like to have a confidential chat about Asian Surrogacy, the support
we can offer you, and our joining process, then please contact Dr. Milind Bhise or Dr. Neelam Bhise. Both
are experienced surrogate mothers and would love to talk things through with you.
The joining process
You can apply for membership by completing our Application Pack for Surrogate Mothers.
You can find this by visiting our Downloads page
Or if you’d like us to send you a copy in the post, just email Dr. Milind and we’ll
mail one out to you for free.
The Application Pack asks about your reasons for wanting to be a surrogate mother,
and there are also some questions about your family life and current circumstances.
There are questions about your interests, your hopes and expectations for a surrogacy
relationship, and your health. There’s also a section which your partner should
fill out if you have one.
As well as a completed application pack we will need some other stuff from you.
This is detailed below as well as in the membership application pack.
GP medical report
We need a medical report from your GP before you can become a Member. Don’t worry
if you have any medical conditions: some will have no impact at all on whether or
not you can be a surrogate mother. Your GP will indicate if any health problems
are relevant to surrogacy, and if necessary can arrange an appointment with a specialist
for further advice.
To make things easier, you’ll find a letter in the Application Pack that you
fill out and give to your GP. The letter explains to your GP what information is
needed so they can write the report. GPs sometimes do this for free and sometimes
they charge; if they do ask for a fee, don’t worry: we’ll cover the cost. Just send
us their invoice, and we’ll either refund it to you, or pay the bill directly with
the GP, whichever you prefer.
BMI
On the application form we ask for your height and your weight. This is because
obesity can increase the risks of complications in pregnancy, and some IVF clinics
are reluctant to provide treatment for host surrogates with a high BMI (Body Mass
Index). Your BMI is your weight in kilos, divided by your height in meters squared.
A BMI higher than 30 may be problematic for host surrogacy, though IVF clinics vary
in their policies.
For straight surrogacy there are no hard-and-fast rules, so it would be up to individual
IPs and Surrogate Mothers to make a decision about whether to proceed.
Please get in touch if you want to discuss this further.
Age
We have a minimum age of 23 for Surrogate Mothers, unless there are exceptional
circumstances. We don’t have a maximum age, but bear in mind that the risks of pregnancy
may increase over the age of about 35, and some IVF clinics do impose restrictions
of their own. Feel free to contact us for a chat about this.
Criminal records checks
Surrogate Mothers and their partners (if they have one) are required to provide
criminal records checks. You may have had one for your work (usually via the Criminal
Records Bureau or CRB) and a CRB certificate less than 12 months old will be accepted
for your membership. If you don’t already have a CRB certificate, you can obtain
a new criminal records check from Disclosure Scotland. We can send you the forms,
and we’ll pay the fee on your behalf. The type of form you need to ask for is a
‘basic disclosure’.
Please send us the original document: we will note that it has been seen and return
it to you.
Sexual Health Checks
If you are only considering Host Surrogacy, you don’t need to organise sexual health
checks at this stage: the IVF clinic that you and your IPs use will sort all this
out.
However if you are considering Straight Surrogacy, you’ll need to organise sexual
health checks before you join. Getting the tests done is easy, and there are three
ways available:
Tests for genital herpes are not always available, so we ask you to let us know
if you have ever had an outbreak of the infection in the past. This is very important.
The tests may need to be repeated before you start inseminations, depending on how
much time passes between these tests and starting to work with your IPs. At that
point it may also be agreed that your partner (if you have one) should be tested.
These decisions will be discussed at your agreement session.
The Information Session
Once we’ve received your completed Application Pack, we’ll get in touch to arrange
your face-to-face Information Session. You can have this at your own home, or somewhere
else if you’d prefer, and it’s a chance to talk everything through with one of our
experienced Surrogate Members.
rewarding experience for everyone involved
You are considering doing one of the most amazing things that one human being can
do for another. But, it is important to be upfront: being a surrogate mother is
an emotionally and physically demanding task. It is important that a woman considering
this option has the backing of a partner, family or friends to provide emotional
support and practical help throughout and after the pregnancy.
Read more...
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News & Events
- Risks of using an unregistered donor
- If you don’t use a registered donor from an HFEA licensed clinic:
- you could be putting your health and that of the unborn child at risk as the same
checks and screening do not apply
- the legal position is less clear and the donor could have a claim on or responsibility
for the child
- people born as a result will not have a statutory right to access information about
their donor from the HFEA register.