Non-commercial surrogacy: an account of patient management in the first Dutch Centre for IVF Surrogacy, from 1997 to 2004
Open Access
- 27 November 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Human Reproduction
- Vol. 25 (2), 443-449
- https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dep410
Abstract
Surrogacy was prohibited in the Netherlands until 1994, at which time the Dutch law was changed from the general prohibition of surrogacy to the prohibition of commercial surrogacy. This paper describes the results from the first and only Dutch Centre for Non-commercial IVF Surrogacy between 1997 and 2004. A prospective study was conducted of all intended parents, and surrogate mothers and their partners (if present), in which medical, psychological and legal aspects of patient selection were assessed by questionnaires and interviews developed for this study. More than 500 couples enquired about surrogacy by telephone or e-mail. More than 200 couples applied for surrogacy in the Centre, of which, after extensive screening, 35 couples actually entered the IVF programme and 24 completed the treatment, resulting in 16 children being born to 13 women. Recommendations for non-commercial surrogacy are given, including abandoning the 1-year waiting period before adoption, currently dictated by law, avoiding a period of unnecessary psychological distress. Our study has shown that non-commercial IVF surrogacy is feasible, with good results in terms of pregnancy outcome and psychological outcome for all parents, and with no legal problems relating to the adoption procedures arising. The extensive screening of medical, psychological and legal aspects was a key element in helping to ensure the safety and success of the procedure.Keywords
This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- British women's attitudes to surrogacyHuman Reproduction, 2008
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 397: Surrogate MotherhoodObstetrics & Gynecology, 2008
- Gestational surrogacyHuman Reproduction Update, 2003
- Using attitudinal indicators to explain the public's intention to have recourse to gamete donation and surrogacyHuman Reproduction, 2002
- Experience of in vitro fertilization surrogacy in FinlandActa Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 2002
- Experience of in vitro fertilization surrogacy in Finland.2002
- Treatment by in vitro fertilisation with surrogacy: experience of one British centre Surrogacy should payBMJ, 2000
- Assisted reproduction practice in Europe: legal and ethical aspectsHuman Reproduction Update, 1997
- Successful Pregnancy after in Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer from an Infertile Woman to a SurrogateNew England Journal of Medicine, 1985
- Warnock Report on Human Fertilisation and EmbryologyThe Lancet, 1984