A CLIENT of Dr Naina Patel, one of the pioneers practicing surrogate childbearing at Anand, said of the women offering their wombs to nurture their genetic babies till birth, albeit for a fee: "These are women we don't know, will never know, who will become in a way, part of our lives." That is something akin to what clients abroad feel about Indian BPO staff, who solve their problems without knowing them; that is what reforms are about. Agrees Dr. Kaushal Kadam, scientific director of Center for Human Reproduction in Mumbai, "I really don't think that this is exploiting the women. I feel it is two people who are helping out each other."

However, not everything is designed to remain honky-dory for long. Attempts are already on to kill the promising potential emerging before thousands of women. Self-styled social workers have started fuming about foreigners 'exploiting' the poverty of illiterate Indian women, drawing attention to the thumb impressions illiterate women affix alongside the signatures of clients in the agreements. These vigilantes with a purist mindset are rooting for a total ban on the 'shameful trade'. The rhetoric goes on: "In a country crippled by abject poverty, how will the government body guarantee that women will not agree to surrogacy just to be able to eat two square meals a day?"

While ideologically inclined 'intellectuals' are only interested in debates to identify remedies for the 'abject poverty' and as administrators are busy looking for excuses to tolerate it, culture vultures want to impose their own brand of 'ethics' over the free will of the Kalpanabens (mentioned in the first part of this article) to 'protect' them (from themselves!). Doesn't terming what Kalpanaben did as 'flesh trade' betray intellectual bankruptcy on the part of the self-appointed saviours, and smack of a game plan to keep her suppressed?

There are other simplistic romantics insisting that infertile couple must accept it as some god-given handicap and for adoption. However, this 'solution' - admittedly a noble thought - does not take care of the totality of the yearning, particularly in women. Motherhood has complex physiological, psychological and social dimensions. You cannot simply ask aspiring parents to get reconciled to the deprivation.

Tragically, more than a decade after the liberalisation process started, India has still to contend with a top heavy, overbearing governance machinery that seeks to interfere every aspect of citizens' life. And, bad governance and corruption can take away whatever competitive advantages exist for the reproductive outsourcing sector. The ministry of women and child development announced last month that a legislation governing surrogacy would shortly be initiated.

It is quite likely that a needy (and greedy) lady, spurned after tests by the doctors as being unfit to be a surrogate, would be employed to demolish some of the enterprises. Crooked, envious government officials and lawmakers can use them easily to blackmail money-spinning fertility doctors. Their godfathers would be powerful and 'committed' enough to get Interpol alerts issued against those resisting their demands.

Incidentally, the complaint by a labourer named Vidya Prakash alias Pappu Jatav, which created a big furore in January about rampant 'kidney robberies' by doctors, has turned out to be a damp squib. Moradabad police found upon ultrasound scan on February 17 that he had both his kidneys intact! The 'victim' had gone to Gurgaon two years ago; he ostensibly had been forced by 'kidney robbers' to part with one of his kidneys in an operation. But, after he was put on the operation table, the 'horror doctors' found him to be an unfit candidate, as he had two renal veins.

Apart from double-crossing by disgruntled 'donors' and patients, the most formidable threat to transplantation science comes from moral brigades operated by elitists like Maneka Gandhi. The socialite runs a multi-crore rupees crusade against consumption of meat, fish, eggs and even milk/milk products, which she considers sinful. Such politicos are not obliged to give a thought to millions of human beings, making a living out of the vocation, and the nutrition requirements of the poor, after all!

Terming the 'mass kidney robbery' as 'tip of the iceberg,' the honourable BJP MP recently asked in Parliament, "Why can't we book those who are found involved in organ rackets under attempted murder?" Thanks to hullaballoo raised by her likes, the image of India created in the world about organ transplant procedures is this: "Poor patients and labourers are forced - using persuasion, trickery and threats - to part with their kidney for a pittance; and the organs are then sold off to wealthy clients from India and abroad at huge profits."

Home Minister Shivraj Patil sheepishly responded to the hypocritical moralist, "If it can be done it will be done. If it can't be (done) we are helpless" and added that the health ministry was considering setting up an organ bank, "This bank, like the eye bank, would be of use when someone needs a transplant."

So, the idea of powers that be is to establish such centres as another dysfunctional government den, with flagrant corruption breeding gigantic scams; they will benefit the babu-neta (bureacucrats and politicians) clique instead of medical professionals. Naturally, potential international patients will get driven away and would flock to doctors in other countries like Thailand, despite their caliber not being higher.

To make India a global hub of reproductive outsourcing, the need is to build on India's strengths and ruthlessly avoid the bevy of ills the country is plagued with. If Indian Medical Council would let Menaka Gandhi and Patil to have their way that will scare away couples looking at India for reproductive outsourcing and surrogate moms as well. The government of India would have nipped another promising avenue opening up to its women and to doctors; and we would continue to rant about their 'unpatriotic' attitude of migrating to greener pastures, deserting the country!

Courtesy: www.merinews.com, March 11, 2008