Surrogacy services in China guarantee a boy for US$160,000
Staff Reporter 2012-12-29 08:51
Mothers and babies. (Photo/Xinhua)
With one in every eight married couples in China unable to produce children, the rising trend of infertility has led to huge market demand for surrogacy services at ever increasing prices. An agency in Xiamen offers a service which "guarantees the birth of a boy," which costs up to 1 million yuan (US$160,000). If the couple wants to have twins, they have to pay 200,000 yuan (US$32,000) extra, reports Want Daily, our Chinese-language sister newspaper.
The local Xiamen Strait Herald reports that three or four years ago, a guaranteed male birth cost 500,000 to 600,000 yuan (US$80,000-$96,200) but has now almost doubled.
A man surnamed He recently tried to help a friend find a surrogate mother, yet was unable to do so despite offering 500,000 yuan. His friend is a wealthy businessman who hopes to find a female college student willing to act as a surrogate mother since his wife is unable to become pregnant.
The brokerage costs for surrogate births has been rising year on year. Three years ago, a standard price paid to a surrogate mother was a little over 100,000 (US$16,000) yuan, but the price has risen around threefold — more if the couple are determined to specify the sex of the child.
One surrogacy agency said they offer a variety of packages. The first costs 300,000 yuan (US$48,000), but does not guarantee success; the second costs 500,000 yuan and guarantees the birth of a boy or girl within two years; the third costs more than 1 million yuan, and guarantees to produce a boy.
Another agency which claims to provide surrogate services in Xiamen gives an itemized price list on its website: the hospital contact costs 50,000 yuan (US$8,000), the transplant procedure costs 180,000 yuan (US$28,900), service for finding a surrogate mother costs 40,000 yuan (US$6,400), compensation for the surrogate mother costs 160,000 yuan (US$25,650), the egg costs 100,000 yuan (US$16,000), the fee for the egg transplant procedure is 15,000 yuan (US$2,400), the total cost coming to amounting to 545,000 yuan (US$87,400). Even with this outlay, however, a successful pregnancy is not guaranteed.
Another website called Xiamen Surrogate Mother Bar said that a successful pregnancy without specifying the sex of the baby costs 750,000 yuan (US$120,300), while it will cost 1 million yuan (US$160,000) to specify the sex. I clients want twins, they will have to pay an extra 200,000 yuan (US$32,000); even without guaranteeing a successful pregnancy, the cost is around 450,000 (US$72,000). The webmaster of the site also stressed that if a boy is chosen but the surrogate mother is found to be pregnant with a girl, the fetus will be aborted.
An agency explained why the cost for a surrogate mother has risen sharply, saying that 100,000 yuan (US$160,000) is not even sufficient to pay the commission for woman to volunteer as a surrogate. He added that a surrogate mother's commission is about 140,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan (US$22,500-$32,000) and that if the client has requirements regarding the appearance and educational background of the surrogate mother, the cost may be much higher.
