‘Cheated of Rs 5L’ by fertility centre: Surrogate mother

In her petition, Preethi from Nemilichery in Tiruvallur, the mother of two, said she decided to be a surrogate mother to make ends meet and met one Murali, staff at a private fertility clinic on Nelson Manickam Road, through a friend Ramya.

After the hospital offered her Rs 4 lakh to bear a male child and Rs 5 lakh for twins, she underwent the procedure of artificial insemination in April for twins, she claimed. She delivered the twins prematurely at the same hospital on January 3. The hospital took custody of the babies and discharged her, she said.

However, when she returned to the hospital a week later to get her the payment of Rs 5 lakh, the hospital administration allegedly told Preethi they could not give her the promised sum as both the babies had died. She was reportedly given only Rs 10,000.

When asked, officials said her petition has been forwarded to Aminjikarai police station for investigation. “While surrogacy is legal, we will have to check if the babies had really died. Also, the clauses of the agreement between the hospital and the complainant have to be studied to ascertain if there was any violation,” said the police.

The complainant was not reachable for her comment.