From Australia: Twin girls, and support throughout their journey...

A story from a family who never gave up on their dream...

Dear SCI

We are now the proudest parents of Ella and Abbey, they are the most gorgeous little girls on this Earth and it is the greatest gift we have ever been given to now have them in our arms. Words cannot really express what our daughters mean to us, but maybe a few well chosen words of thanks might go someway and provide confidence to others to never give up on their dream, for without a dream their is no meaning to life.

The team at SCI over the last two years has worked tirelessly to help us achieve this dream, it has been a pleasure to work with their staff who have supported us at every moment. 

We did not choose SCI easily, we researched and attended conferences on surrogacy, we spoke with many medical professionals both clinically and ethically and we made the most informed choice that directed us to go with SCI. Meeting Dr Shivani was one of the greatest moments we have experienced along this journey and that occurred over two years ago and stays fresh in our memories, my wife found her to be a very sensitive and compassionate doctor, I found her to be a highly professional and ethical doctor who was well qualified and experienced in her field.  I remember Dr Shivani and my wife hugging each other after their first conversation together, from that moment on we placed total trust in her and her team and from that moment on Dr Shivani never gave up on us fulfilling our dream. 

Dr Shivani was always available to us and her team were always prompt in their contact with us also, this made the journey easier.

Although we had many attempts and for certain medical reasons were unsuccessful it was all worth it in the end and we highly recommend others placing their trust in SCI. We have not had one bad experience with SCI and trust me we have asked the hardest questions.

We would also like to mention our surrogate to whom we will also be eternally thankful, to give us this gift of carrying our children is beyond our comprehension, we have had the opportunity to meet her in Delhi after the birth of our girls and I don't think their is another time in our life's that we both felt so inept to say thank you  to someone who has given us so much. 

The reality is that because our beautiful surrogate has carried our children and brought these two beautiful souls in the world  for us she has also given us the greatest meaning to our lives and fulfilled a life long dream of having children, many people take having children for granted but for people like myself and my wife this has never been the case.

In closing we thank Dr Shivani, our beautiful  surrogate and the SCI team beyond what any words can really express, God Bless You All, 

You will always be in our thoughts 

Love 

David and Maria, Ella and Abbey ( A proud and thankful Family)

If you would like further information about surrogacy with SCI, please email us at : drshivanisachdev@gmail.com

From the UK: a long held dream fulfilled...

Much awaited twins for a UK family...

'Thank you Dr Shivani and your fabulous team for helping us finally achieve our long held dream of having a family. 

We cannot express in words how thrilled and happy we are now and we are forever grateful to our lovely surrogate who has done so much.  

We will always be humbled and grateful for our children and for all the help and support and most of all positivity from the whole SCI team,

With much love from the UK '

If you would like to find out more about surrogacy, you can email us at : drshivanisachdev@gmail.com

Margarida

From Canada: An experience of a lifetime

Reflections from a Canadian Family...

Dear Dr. Shivani,

It’s been exactly one year since you and your team at SCI gave us our precious little boy and I wanted to write you this letter not only to thank you and the SCI team for the priceless gift you gave my wife and I but also as a message to all the people out there who have suffered years of pain and doubt they will ever become parents.

Thanks to Dr. Shivani, the holes that were left in our hearts from a stillbirth we suffered in 2011 were finally been healed with the birth of our baby boy on April 30, 2013.

Many people don’t proceed with International Surrogacy because of  “Fear”
so the purpose of this email is to alleviate any fear that you may have.

1)     FEAR OF FAILURE:

If you are like us, you have endured unimaginable loss or constant rejection and feel it’s easier to stop trying than to face any more.  Can I guarantee that you won’t experience rejection if you try surrogacy? Definitely not.   After all, it took four surrogates before we finally had our precious bundle of joy.  What I will tell you is what someone told me when we were just starting with SCI and they were in India picking up their child… “It will work.  It may take a few tries but it WILL WORK.” 

2)     FEAR OF TRAVELING HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD TO A COUNTRY I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT

My parents were born in India and as a child I visited there 5 times with the last trip being over 20 years ago.  To be frank, my memories weren’t that great – nobody spoke English, nobody had television, and I just couldn’t wait to get back to Canada and go to McDonald’s. 

When I first started reading the blogs, the one thing that jumped out at me was how most of the people upon picking up their baby were sad to leave India and how amazing they said their time was here.  I was perplexed.  This can’t be the same India I remember from my youth.

But for the 5 weeks that we were there picking up our baby boy, I can honestly say there was no other place that I wanted to be.  We stayed at a beautiful hotel that was not only filled with other Westerners going through the exact same journey, it was attached to a mall that rivals any one you would see in North America.  It had everything from Starbucks to Pizza Hut, McDonald’s to even a Hard Rock Café.  If you can go see the Taj Mahal in the morning and cap it off with a Haagen Dazs before you go to bed.  

Oh and I forgot to add…if you’re Australian or American you come home within 2 weeks of picking up your baby.  If you’re Canadian, like me, it’s a little longer (about 5 weeks) but that is a drop in the bucket compared to the lifetime of memories you’re going to have with your child.

So if the reason you don’t want to try surrogacy is the fear of travelling halfway around the world, don’t be.

3)     FEAR OF CHOOSING THE WRONG CLINIC

OK, so you’ve decided that surrogacy is for you but now you are wondering “which clinic do I choose?”  Here is our thought process on how we finally decided upon SCI…

1) Choosing a Country – Many countries offer gestational surrogacy but we finally settled upon India for the simple fact that it was one of highest success rates in the world.  We have consistently found that the medical care in India surpasses that of our home.   Dr. Shivani is medically trained in the UK and the medical equipment they use is the same you would see at any hospital in the US and Canada.   Our poor surrogate had to be admitted in the hospital at 28 weeks.  From the first day she was admitted to the birth of our baby 5.5 weeks later we were getting daily updates on her well being.

2) Choosing a City – We chose Delhi over other cities in India because I knew all the head offices were there.  The Canadian High Commission was there so I knew if we had any issues whatsoever in just a 20 minute drive I could speak to someone face to face.

3)     Choosing a Clinic – Now for the most important part.  We finally settled on two clinics.  Surrogacy Centre India in New Delhi and Surrogacy India in Mumbai.  To break the tie I asked both clinics to provide with FIVE Canadian or American references who used their clinics.  Surrogacy India only sent over a couple.  Surrogacy Centre India not only sent me FIVE references but they sent me over five people who first didn’t have any luck at Surrogacy India but then had success using Surrogacy Centre India.   After our first call with a reference who lives only 15 minutes away from our home in Canada we were sold.  One other very important point. 

One of the biggest factors in deciding the clinic was how well they treat the surrogate mothers.  I can’t speak to other clinics but at SCI the Surrogates are treated very well. First and foremost,  they don’t hide them beside some secretive well.  We met the surrogate mothers (we used multiple) before the process started and again when we came to pick up our baby.  We even requested to meet her husband and children as we had gifts for them and SCI arranged.   Speaking of family, SCI keeps the surrogate mother with her family during the entire pregnancy.  This was also very important to us as we know most have little children of their own.  In fact, when our Surrogate Mother went on hospital bed rest, they made sure her family was able to visit her every day. 

This letter, has officially passed the 1,000 word mark so apologize for the length of it but if I can help guide someone who, like us, been searching for a way to build their family then this has all been worth it. 

If anyone wishes to speak with me about our journey, feel free to pass along my email address.

B, A and baby P

P.S.  Attached is the picture of P when we first brought him home from the NICU.

If you would like to find out more about surrogacy in India, please email us at: drshivanisachdev@gmail.com

Our surrogates: There is no elevator to success -one has to take the stairs

 Another story about a women who took control of her life and made some informed decisions...

We are feeling very proud being able to share Anjali's story. 

Anjali has changed her husband and children’s life after surrogacy and is very proud to be able to have done so. Before surrogacy, Anjali's children were not going to school. Now Anjali's 6 years old daughter and 4 years old son go to school!

 Anjali’s husband was working as a bus conductor; with poor opportunity for advancement and the added burden that her husband was only working person in the family. Through some of the compensation received through doing surrogacy, Anjali was able to buy a second hand car for her husband so that he can work independently.

Anjali decided to help another family with a selfless gift that no amount of compensation can ever make up for. This mindful women made a decision that changed the lives of both her family and that of a family across the globe. Anjali's children are attending school; her husband self employed and Anjali will be part of an amazing birth story, honoured forever in it's retelling.

Anjali and her family are very proud of her decision to become a surrogate.
  
If you would like to find out more about surrogacy, please email us at: drshivanisachdev@gmail.com

Our surrogates: the beauty of a dream...

One of the myths that is perpetuated by the media is that our surrogates are not able to make informed decisions about their lives, that they are ashamed of being a surrogate. We hope that by blogging some of our surrogates stories, we can show that this is not true.

The Future Belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Meet Sarita a mother and a wife. Like every parent she had a wish, to send her daughter to a good school however that was not possible due to lack of money. Her husband was working as a peon in an office.

Sarita loved being a surrogate mother, she knows how a baby is important for a family. With her compensation she bought a general store for her husband and now her 5 years daughter is getting an education in a well known school. 

Sarita made her life what she wants it to be. She is proud of the joy and happiness that she has brought a family by helping them have a baby. She is delighted that her contribution to own family's wellbeing will have a lasting impact on their lives.

If you would like to find out more about surrogacy, please feel free to email us at drshivanisachdev@gmail.com