A report into commercial surrogacy in Australia has highlighted a number of cases in which commissioning couples discover they have no genetic link to the children.
The report, by the Attorney-General’s Department, details a number of instances in which children were commissioned from Indian surrogacy clinics. In one, twin girls were supposed to have been conceived using sperm from the father and a donor egg but subsequent tests revealed that an unknown third party had in fact fathered the children.
The report states:
“Mr P, an Australian citizen of Indian background, commissioned twin girls who he claims were intended to have been his biological children using donor eggs, but DNA test results showed no biological tie.”
In a separate case, a second couple now face bringing up a child with no link to the father.
“The child was born to Australian parents who went to India to arrange surrogacy…When the tests came back there was no link.”
Another couple came forward following publication of the report, to report that they had had the same experience. They were reportedly “devastated” by the discovery.
The Attorney-General’s Department works to assess and improve Australian law and policy.
In August, advocacy group Surrogacy Australia feared a ban on international surrogacy after a commissioning couple refused to bring home a child born with Down’s Syndrome.
