New Delhi: The Centre has announced that married couples facing medical challenges can now utilize donor eggs or sperm during the surrogacy process.  The Centre has amended the surrogacy rules 2022. The modification, issued on Wednesday, mandates certification by the District Medical Board, confirming that one of the partners suffers from a medical condition necessitating the use of donor gametes.

Child born through surrogacy must inherit one gamete

The notification emphasizes that if the District Medical Board certifies a medical condition in either the husband or wife, allowing the use of donor gametes becomes permissible for surrogacy. 

However, it specifies that the child born through surrogacy must inherit at least one gamete from the intending couple.

This amendment imposes a restriction, barring couples where both partners have medical issues preventing the production of their own gametes from opting for surrogacy. 

The notification explicitly states that single women, whether widowed or divorced, seeking surrogacy must utilize their own eggs and donor sperm for the procedure.

Petition in Supreme Court 

The decision to amend the rules follows petitions submitted to the Supreme Court by women nationwide, prompted by a previous ruling permitting a woman with a rare congenital disorder to undergo surrogacy with a donor egg. 

It's noteworthy that just last year, in March 2023, the Centre had issued a notification prohibiting the usage of donor gametes for couples intending to pursue surrogacy.