KOCHI: The social media advertisement promised to ‘Find your surrogate mother in 7 days!’ with the tagline ‘Speed and precision to match you with the surrogate.’ But, as it turns out, behind the polished online posts and promises lurks a network that preys on poor, illiterate women — luring them with offers of quick money to become egg donors and surrogates.
The recent busting of a ring linked to a fertility clinic in Kochi has exposed an illegal assisted reproductive technology (ART) racket flourishing in Kerala.
In the police action on MamaMia Life Solutions Pvt Ltd in Edappally, five women from West Bengal and a mother and her child from Tamil Nadu were rescued and placed in protective custody.
The women, all around 25 years old, were reportedly brought to Kerala and persuaded to become either surrogate mothers or egg donors, lured purely by the promise of money. Illegal clinics had promised them between Rs 30,000-40,000, but once they arrived, they were paid only a meagre sum, Kalamassery police said.
Despite stringent regulations, unlicensed operators exploit loopholes in the system. Authorities have so far received four major complaints, resulting in show-cause notices and the cancellation of the licence of MamaMia Life.
The police raid followed a complaint filed by the additional secretary of the department of health and family welfare, alleging that MamaMia Life, operating under the pretext of a valid licence, had published online advertisements, lured six women from other states with promises of remuneration, brought them to Kerala, confined them unlawfully, and carried out unauthorised egg retrieval and surrogacy procedures for financial gain.
‘Laws mandate stringent action, but enforcement weak, allowing exploitation’
The police report filed with Kerala High Court said that tower location details of all the women, along with phone numbers they contacted after arriving in Ernakulam and the addresses linked to those numbers, were being collected through the cyber cell. Based on these findings, investigators deemed it necessary to question the women in detail and record their statements afresh for corroboration. Several hospitals were also placed under the scanner.
On September 29, while considering the plea of an ART bank in Kochi, which alleged the illegal detention of women at MamaMia Life, the HC observed, “Innovation is always a key in medicine, and assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been a global game changer. Unfortunately, ART has brought within its fold, due to its huge demand, various deleterious tendencies, particularly in the growing markets of low- and middle-income countries. We fear if this has percolated into our small state of Kerala as well.”
The appropriate authority (AA) constituted under the ART and Surrogacy Acts conducted an inquiry into MamaMia and found that IVF activities were being carried out illegally and without authorisation, in violation of the ART (Regulation) Act. The team also seized the ART bank certificate. It was further revealed that the mandatory written consent of oocyte donors, as required under Form 13 of the ART Rules, 2021, was not obtained or maintained by the clinic or the associated ART bank.
A report filed by the additional secretary before the HC said that MamaMia Life’s claim — that the women volunteered to donate eggs after seeing the social media advertisements — was implausible, as the women knew only their native languages while the advertisements were published in English on Instagram and other social media platforms. The report added that how women from the northeast and other regions came to the institution after seeing these advertisements can only be established through a thorough investigation.
The AA has also decided to conduct surprise inspections at similar establishments. Recently, inspections were carried out at four centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Alappuzha districts. Some irregularities were detected during these inspections, and directions were issued to rectify them. The report further clarified that no complaints from the public had been received in this regard.
On October 17, the HC directed the principal secretary of the health department to ensure the provisions of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the ART (Regulation) Act, 2021, are displayed permanently in conspicuous spaces in all clinics, ART banks, surrogacy centres and hospitals offering services under them. This shall be done in both English and Malayalam for ease of reading of every patient/customer seeking services of such institutions, the court said.
Dr Smithy George, senior consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at Rajagiri Medical Center, Angamaly, said that surrogacy, seen by many as a noble act enabling childless couples to have biologically related children, has long been practised in India. “However, its lack of regulation made it vulnerable to corruption and exploitation over time. To address this, the central government introduced the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, banning commercial surrogacy and promoting altruistic surrogacy — where the surrogate is a close relative of the intended parents and receives no monetary compensation for her reproductive labour. Additionally, a woman may act as a surrogate only once,” she said.
“But exploitation remains rampant in this field. Though laws mandate stringent action, enforcement is weak, allowing exploitation to continue. Uneducated women are often taken advantage of by various groups, which tarnishes the reputation of legitimate centres and clinics,” Dr Smithy added.
