We often celebrate the end of families' stories, with the birth of a much wanted child. Behind each of these stories is the story of what brought families to India, to Delhi.
People who are unfamiliar with surrogacy in India, often think that IP's are indulgent; too posh to push, haven't tried enough etc... without understanding the context families or what brings them to surrogacy in India.
This is one such story, a brave story, a story of courage, of resilience, of persistence and we thank both Nel and Dan for sharing this very personal story with us... the beginning of their journey with surrogacy & SCI.
Dan and Nel from Victoria.
Hi!
We have just returned from
two and a half weeks of self cycling in Dehli. What an adventure we have had!!
Right now embryo transfer is complete and we are awaiting a pregnancy test. In
the meantime here is our story.
Our background
In 2009 we’d tried
everything to get my body to produce eggs. Naturopath, acupuncture, Chinese
herbs (which stank!!), clomid. We even saw my Aunty in the Philippines who uses
massages to solve all of life’s problems. Nothing worked. In 2010 we turned to
XXX IVF.
Cycle 1: 3 eggs, 2
embryos.
1 fresh transfer –
successful
Preg 1 - ended at 13w, baby
boy
Cycle 2: FET –
unsuccessful
Cycle 3: 2 eggs, 1 embryo.
Fresh transfer – unsuccessful
Preg 2 – natural, ended at
16w, baby boy.
Preg 3 - natural, ended at 22w, baby girl.
I delivered and nursed all
of my precious babies.
XXX IVF
My experiences of IVF were
harrowing. High doses with VERY low ovarian response. Pushing through cycles 2
and 3 we began to notice the “bums on seats” mentality .
Two surprise natural
pregnancies sparked relief for us. YES we don’t need IVF anymore!!! But instead
of shopping for frilly bassinettes we were slumped horrific losses. It was time
to take my body out of the equation and tap into surrogacy.
A new start
Desperate to start a
family we saw a lawyer who advised us on all the red tape of
surrogacy and adoption law in Australia. The mountain of the Australian system
just seemed too big to climb. We started thinking outside the square where we
quickly found that all roads led to SCI.
Surrogacy Centre India
Coming to terms with more
IVF was very difficult. Having to go to a foreign country made it worse.....but
facing another pregnancy was simply impossible. So we took a deep breath and
went for it.
IVF in India
 |
| Where IVF happens |
SCI’s IVF clinic ISIS
hospital is an amazing place. Sitting in the midst of Delhi’s chaos is this
little hospital. Ultra modern and staffed with the most gentle nurses. Within
seconds of meeting Dr Shivani all my terrified thoughts had gone. We were in the right place.
Dr Shivani runs the IVF
clinic herself and she knows EXACTLY what is going on with everyone. We have no
idea how she does it. We could call her anytime and
she treated us like we were her only patients.
After our initial meeting
Dr Shivani scanned me and within seconds she was shaking her head. A big cyst
on my left ovary. The following day I was in
theatre having it drained.
Days later self-cycling
began. I have never felt so at ease considering I was being given high doses of
gonal F and growth hormones as well as antagonist everyday. We chose to attend
the clinic everyday for injections. The nurses knew us by name and never ONCE
asked me for a patient number. For the first time we truly felt that the
sensitivity of our horrific past was being respected...and that we were people,
patients...not numbers or bums for the seats.
Tour of SCI Headquarters
Dr Shivani took us on a
tour of SCI HQ. She must do dozens of these every fortnight but she was so
personal that we could have been her only patients. SCI runs like a well oiled
machine. Every piece of the puzzle is well staffed and the whole operation is running
like clockwork. We could see that every dollar of our fees goes to the
operational costs of the business.
Handy things to know
 |
| From our Hotel room |
·
Lots of SCI’s clients are Australians so you are not alone!!
· We stayed at Svelte which is attached to a large mall. It was
expensive but full of Aussies. The price is not for everyone but for us the
companionship of other Aussies in the same boat was worth it. We cuddled
babies, shared stories, ate out every night ($10 steaks with veggies from the
Hard Rock Cafe!) Everything is out in the open. People were MORE THAN WILLING
to share. I have never known such support.
 |
| places to go, people to meet! |
·
In India surrogacy is “normal”. Having foreigners around
participating in surrogacy arrangements is simply an everyday part of
life.
·
Taxes! OMG taxes! Taxes ARE NOT included in the advertised
price. That’s ok if you buy a small pizza for 225 ruppees (about $5). The 3 taxes
- general tax (we called it GST), service tax and tax on the service tax (I kid
you not!) only added up to 55ruppee (about $1). But when we got our
accommodation bill the taxes (GST tax and luxury tax....YES LUXURY TAX!) added
up to $500 for 17 nights. We were lucky we had extra “just incase” money. FYI
when we went to the cinema we paid an “entertainment tax”.
·
For currency exchange go the “Domani” money changer shop at
the MbLock market. I promise you won’t get a better rate anywhere else.
So that’s our story. I
can’t speak highly enough of the self-cycling experience. The hardest part of
the journey was facing the pollution, grime and poverty on the streets. But in
saying that, our surrogate is very well paid for the priceless gift she
provides. And if our $$$ means that our surrogate’s family will have a better
life; then it’s a definite win-win situation as far as we are concerned.
Wishing everyone blessings
of babies
Dan and Nel,
Victoria
xxx
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