Vizag woman gets cheated of Surrogacy

Vishakapatnam, May 23: Tension situation prevailed at Padmasri Hospital here on Wednesday when relatives of a surrogate mother staged a protest after she fell sick.

They alleged that the hospital management had cheated the woman by performing artificial insemination instead of fertilizing the egg outside the womb.



Police said a surrogacy mediator, K Usha, had lured a woman identified as N Nagalakshmi, a resident of Swatantra Nagar, with a promise of a "handsome compensation" if she played the role of a surrogate mother. The 32-year-old mother of three children accepted the offer as she was in dire financial stress and living separately from her husband following domestic disputes.

Nagalakshmi alleged that Usha had promised to pay Rs 20,000 for a donation of eggs. Usha told Nagalakshmi that she needed to stay in the hospital for about 30 days.

Dr. Sudha Padmasri of Padmasri Hospital told media that,"I have obtained all necessary permissions from local authorities. I have not done anything illegal. The woman signed a legal document for surrogacy. The agreement was between the donor and the infertile woman. I am only a doctor," she said.

According to the complaint, Usha took Nagalakshmi to Padmasri Hospital in March. Usha had signed in the hospital register as Nagalakshmi's caretaker.

"They gave me so many medicines before I was taken into the operation theatre after 15 days. They said they were taking an egg from my womb. They took my signature on several papers," Nagalakshmi alleged.

It was alleged that the woman was subjected to artificial insemination. The doctor later informed the woman about the artificial insemination and offered Rs 3 lakh.

"I was asked to carry the child and promised to pay the money after delivery. They gave the woman a mobile phone after the procedure. I contacted Usha and told her about the cheating. The doctor asked me to carry the child and gave me Rs 5000 when I was crying," Nagalakshmi said.

Progressive Organisation of Women (POW) state secretary P Lakshmi alleged that the woman was cheated by the hospital management.

"The victim told us that four surrogate mothers are confined in the hospital. As many as 18 women had acted as surrogate mothers earlier," Lakshmi said. She demanded the arrest of the doctor.

"We are writing to the district medical and health officer and KGH doctors to verify the allegations. Based on their report we will proceed further," IV Town police station inspector B Tirumala Rao said adding that a case has been registered.