Britons pay Indians to become surrogate mothers

London: India's surrogacy industry is being used by Britons to become parents, a media report said on Sunday.

There are now up to 1,000 clinics, all unregulated, in the country, many specialising in helping Britons become parents.

Couples and single people are paying an average of 25,000 pounds a time to have children, getting around rules in Britain which make commercial surrogacy illegal.

Indian authorities now believe the industry is worth as much as 1.5 billion pounds each year.

It is estimated that 2,000 births to surrogate mothers took place in the country last year, with most experts agreeing that Britain is the biggest single source of people who want to become parents in this way, The Telegraph reported.

Britain may account for as many as 1,000 births last year in India. In contrast there were 100 surrogate births recorded in Britain last year.

An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has found that women in India are being paid up to 6,000 pounds to donate eggs and carry babies, something British women are banned from doing.

Indian authorities now believe the industry is worth as much as 1.5 billion pounds each year, is growing rapidly, and say it needs regulating urgently.

Doctors who spoke to this newspaper told of British women who have babies through surrogates to avoid being pregnant and childbirth, raising fears of a "wombs to rent" culture.

Bankers, senior civil servants, executives at multinational companies and even NHS doctors have become parents through surrogacy in India, according to British doctors.

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