A Norwegian woman who engaged an Indian woman to be a surrogate mother of twins may not be able to bring them back home because they are not genetically hers.

Andras Bell (name changed), 31, commissioned a surrogacy at India’s Rotunda fertility clinic. She was suffering from premature ovarian failure, so she chose a Scandinavian sperm donor and an Indian egg donor. Twin boys were born in April.

Ms Bell did not anticipate a mandatory DNA test, which is demanded by many European consulates following a string of recent surrogacy controversies. This revealed that there was no biological link between her and the boys. Her only claim on them was that she had commissioned the surrogacy and signed a few forms at the IVF clinic stating that she would be their “legal mother”. The consulate refused to grant them citizenship.

“We provided all the relevant documents and two to three informed consent papers that she had signed,” said medical director of Rotunda, Dr Gautam Allahabadia. He added that the clinic had done nothing illegal or unethical. “Embryo adoption is a well-accepted choice, and probably the only option for women who are unable to conceive naturally,” he said. Dr Allahabadia helped to draft India’s proposed guidelines for surrogacy, which stipulate that fertility clinics should ensure that foreign clients liaise with their consulates to avoid visa problems. But these were framed only this year, months after Bell had commissioned the surrogacy.

Why didn’t Ms Bell just adopt a child rather than going through the surrogacy process? One IVF expert surmises that “One reason could be that she wanted to avoid the stringent adoption laws and believed that surrogacy was an easier path.” ~Times of India, Jul 21