At what age is a child most 'adoption-ready'? For Wendy Duncan, it was even before the first cell of life started multiplying. She adopted an embryo from India. The Caucasian woman gave birth to a daughter — an ethnic South Asian — in the UK after nurturing her in her womb for 36 weeks.
Embryo adoption is offering a unique opportunity to mothers to deliver their adopted children. Also, embryo adoption is far cheaper and the process shorter than a complete in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle.
Duncan's daughter was born on June 4 and she is already planning a visit to Mumbai for another embryo adoption. "My daughter's origin is none of my concern — I nurtured her and delivered her," she told HT from her home in Market Rasen town in Lincolnshire county.
Brian, her lorry driver husband, found out about facilities available in India and contacted doctors. "Such a procedure is not possible in the UK and there is a long queue for adoptions," she said.
Sperm and egg banks are developing embryos by fertilising sperms and eggs in different permutations and combinations. Often, IVF specialists develop multiple embryos for a couple going through a full IVF cycle. After one is successfully implanted, the rest are frozen for future use.
Indian are also realising the benefits. "People discriminate between an adopted child and a biological offspring. Even the family members were hard to convince. So my husband and I decided to go for this," said Ayesha Khanam (name changed), a Bandra resident who adopted an embryo in October. But she refused to be photographed.
Indian are also realising the benefits. "People discriminate between an adopted child and a biological offspring. Even the family members were hard to convince. So my husband and I decided to go for this," said Ayesha Khanam (name changed), a Bandra resident who adopted an embryo in October. But she refused to be photographed.
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