What changed in February 2024
The February 2024 amendment to the Surrogacy Rules allows a donor egg or donor sperm in surrogacy. It applies when a District Medical Board certifies that one partner has a medical condition needing it.
Before this change, couples had to use their own eggs and sperm. Couples where one partner could not produce usable gametes were left without a legal route. The amendment opened that route, within limits.
The one-gamete condition
The child must have at least one gamete from the intending couple. In practice this gives three possible combinations.
| Eggs | Sperm | Allowed in surrogacy? |
|---|---|---|
| Wife's own | Husband's own | Yes |
| Donor egg | Husband's own | Yes, if a District Medical Board certifies the need |
| Wife's own | Donor sperm | Yes, if a District Medical Board certifies the need |
| Donor egg | Donor sperm | No, since neither gamete comes from the couple |
The surrogate cannot be the egg donor. She carries the pregnancy but is not genetically related to the child.
Rules for widows and divorced women
An Indian widow or divorced woman aged 35 to 45 can be an intending mother. She must use her own eggs with donor sperm.
Donor eggs are not an option for her under the rules. If her egg reserve is very low, this is worth discussing with the doctor early. Tests such as AMH and an ovarian scan help show what is realistic.
Getting the medical need certified
The donor gamete must be certified as medically needed. Personal preference is not a reason the board can accept.
The certification sits within the wider surrogacy process. The District Medical Board of the state where you live or work examines the case and certifies the need. The steps that follow are on our surrogacy process and certificates page.
Your doctor prepares the medical evidence. This may include egg reserve tests, past IVF records or semen analysis reports, depending on which partner needs a donor.
Where donor eggs and sperm come from
Donor gametes can be obtained only through ART banks registered under the ART (Regulation) Act, 2021. A clinic cannot arrange a donor privately.
- ART banks register with the National Registry and renew every five years.
- The bank supplies the gametes to the registered clinic.
- You do not choose a known person as a donor outside this system.
Ask your clinic which registered ART bank it works with. It should also hold its own ART registration and a separate surrogacy registration.
Donor anonymity
Donation through an ART bank is anonymous. You do not learn the donor's identity, and the donor does not learn yours.
Keep this in mind when thinking about what you will tell your child later. Many couples find it helps to talk this through before treatment starts.
Who may need a donor gamete
The board decides each case, but the medical picture is usually one of a few kinds. Your doctor explains which, if any, fits your reports.
When a donor egg may be considered
- Very low egg reserve on AMH tests and scans
- Early menopause
- Repeated IVF cycles with few or poor-quality eggs
- Removal of the ovaries, or damage from cancer treatment
When donor sperm may be considered
- No sperm in the semen, where surgical sperm retrieval has not found sperm
- A genetic condition the husband does not want to pass on
Before a donor is suggested, the doctor checks whether your own gametes can still work. For men, that may include tests and male infertility treatment first.
A worked example
Take a married couple where the wife has no uterus and very low egg reserve. She cannot carry a pregnancy, and her own eggs are unlikely to work.
The couple can apply for surrogacy with a donor egg and the husband's sperm. The board must certify both the need for surrogacy and the need for a donor egg. Embryos made in the lab are then transferred to the surrogate.
If the husband also had no usable sperm, surrogacy would not be possible. Neither gamete would come from the couple. In that situation, the doctor can talk you through the options that remain.
How the treatment works
With a donor egg, the egg is fertilised with the husband's sperm in the lab. With donor sperm, the wife or intending woman goes through stimulation and egg collection, and her eggs are fertilised with the donor sperm.
The embryos are grown, usually frozen, and transferred to the surrogate. Up to three transfer attempts are allowed with the same surrogate. How likely each transfer is to work depends mainly on age, egg reserve, sperm quality and embryo quality.
If a couple needs a donor egg but not a surrogate, the treatment is donor egg IVF, with the wife carrying the pregnancy herself.
What it costs
Using a donor egg adds the donor programme to the IVF part of surrogacy. An IVF cycle with our donor egg programme is ₹2,30,000 – ₹5,36,000. The full breakdown is on donor egg IVF cost in India.
The surrogate's medical care, insurance and legal costs come on top. Your written estimate lists each item after the consultation.
Before you decide
Using a donor gamete is a personal decision as well as a medical one. Talk it through as a couple, and with a counsellor if you wish.
The legal side varies by state authority. Take advice from an advocate experienced in surrogacy law. For medical questions, consult your doctor.