Manufacturing assembly line-like embryos, often-criticized "womb rental", this industry everything from an original desire: We want a child. - There are risks in anything but the baby's desire to always get an overwhelming fear prevail.
Southern Weekly editor onions Pan Xia
pcx001@gmail.com reporter Ming Chen
Beijing reports
Known as "the mother of Chinese test-tube baby" of the Li-Zhu Zhang, completed in 1996, its first production in vitro fertilization surrogacy, full surrogacy that time is a medical technology innovation, there is no doping in which commercial considerations.
Photo Qin Bin
Hollywood film "surrogate mother" stills, video finally avoided the "surrogate" heavy ethical debate. Profile picture
Special 37-year-old, successful career, is still single. One day when she found the conference room of his mouth all the colleagues, turned into a spoiled, baby pacifiers, she understood that he wanted a child. Unfortunately, the doctor told her: her chance of pregnancy is only one millionth. Unable to control themselves through the maternal surrogate intermediate end Kate found a melancholy woman for her pregnancy, for Kate to pay her a lot of dollars.
This is the last Hollywood film "surrogate mother" in the plot, the film dramatic scene is played quietly in China. Surrogate, the word is from the "baby deal", "physical trading" and other notorious names were freed in television programs, newspapers, news, show in public.
In China, the Internet search data, show that hundreds of surrogate presence of intermediate sites. Most of them have ICP for the record, but the server always has been seized; they call themselves "caring volunteers," while they receive a high surrogate fee; one hand, they justify their not illegal, but chose to hide behind the network behind for their controversial status of struggling. In the commercial, ethical and legal, between the surrogate medium is still in the gray area.
This year in March, Baiyun District, Guangzhou City, family planning staff in a pair of child-bearing age of the home visit, we found three allegations to the surrogate mother, conceived in June of them eventually were sent to the hospital staff to implement birth control abortion. April, Jinan adverse economic explosive surrogate market has also been exposed by the media. After the incident report, the response enthusiastic. Some people curse "means the moral abortion surrogate," someone called "ethics final departure from the well-being of mankind."
In this belated commercial surrogacy controversy behind an invisible chain has been quietly taking shape in reality.
All are in the semi-underground status
Qing Lin is a young girl under 30 years of age, dressed in black is very stylish, her feet and light as the city girl. Walking in the streets of Beijing, her attention would wander in the window at the beautiful clothes and shoes, baby car around after a lovely child, attracted the eyes of her delight sympathy and affection.
Through the crowd, turn into a gully and into a 11th floor apartment in a room, Lin Qing replaced with an unknown identity - a "surrogate intermediary" - Introduction to the client agent fertile pregnant women, the payment of a fee.
In addition to family and boyfriend, Lin Qing rarely mention his career with the others, because "the general understanding of the Chinese people can not."
Office of the hallway opposite the elevator, through the cat's eye can always see outside. Inside the room is very simple, less than 100 square meters, office desk, only a laptop computer and a few potted plant, so here it looks more like a home. This decoration is Lin Qing been deliberate, she did not want the landlord that she rented the house uses.
April 3 in the evening, Lin Qing sitting in her office chair, looking a bit tired. She had just battered with surrogacy disputes freed.
A customer rents a good surrogate mother living in the house during pregnancy, the rental contract for the trust placed in the surrogate mother is also there, the next day the surrogate mother and returned the house and took one month deposit. Lin Qing bad the phone well advised to persuade, surrogate mother, who eventually returned the money. "We are not formal business sector, in fact, if she had not yet, we do nothing." Qing Lin said.
Sometimes trouble also comes from the client side. There was a surrogate mother on the phone to call for help, because the client and the surrogate mother proposed to have sexual relations, was rejected after her locks at home, the last Qing Lin who had implored customers to put out.
Dialogue with journalists from the beginning, Lin Qing, have repeatedly stressed, surrogacy is not illegal intermediary this business, because there is no one prohibited by law. Ministry of Health of two administrative regulations - "Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Management Regulations" and "sperm bank Management Measures" are set: ban surrogacy and the sale of sperm, egg, fertilized egg. But the two laws are only for medical institutions and medical personnel, and not legally binding and can not regulate surrogate market.
But she admitted: "This is a no formal rules of the industry, some agencies do a clean, some institutions darker, a transaction can not be successfully made, depends intermediaries, customers and the surrogate mother three of conscience."
From the outset, the industry is facing the weight of ethics and policy, and all operations are in the semi-underground status. Lv Jinfeng, a group calling itself "the Chinese surrogate father" of the intermediary, who in 2004 began to surrogate online intermediary business, 5 years, his surrogate site was closed down a dozen times, a "surrogate" road has twists and turns onward: Suzhou founder, moved to Wuhan and, after Beijing, and now "settled" in Guangzhou.
In the absence of law and state power to intervene in the case, the violence become the surrogate intermediate solution to maintain order. "Sometimes the line can be 'evil' to describe." Qing Lin said some intermediate surrogate mother take the money in order to prevent escape, to detain a surrogate mother education and identification cards of the way; there are some surrogate mother , because they do not "obedient" and beaten. One a year ago had the Shandong Surrogacy surrogate mother to reporters in a telephone interview confirmed that, before she had to bear the beatings in a particular medium, and finally ran to seek refuge with another intermediary. Lin Qing appears in a number of intermediary companies have much with the "underworld."
This feeling also comes from her personal experience. Her surrogate agencies in the country was on the row number, just two years ago to open sub-station in Beijing. She arrived in Beijing to receive the peer sent the machetes, threatened her not to this site to "plug foot." Half a year, the Qing Lin are no fixed office, she and her colleagues around the city mobile office in Beijing to avoid the peer-to seek them out.
Colleagues there are sufficient grounds to do so and full of power - to Lv Jinfeng surrogate network, for example, do 30 cases a month, surrogacy cases received 20,000 yuan each intermediary fee basis, there are 600,000 net per month , and a sub-station staff who only need 3-5.
"The industry chaos going on no one's interest," Lin Qing think that some unscrupulous peers is to disturb. "My greatest hope is to legalize, like all normal business bodies have legal protection, there are industry guidelines, not according to the law of agency should be eliminated."
Baby manufacturing line
Lin Qing is one of the few willing to interview one of surrogate intermediaries. Policy is the most sensitive surrogate intermediate vane, March Guangzhou Baiyun District investigated the incident surrogate mother enough for them to collectively silenced.
Even as far away as 2,000 km away in Beijing, the event or a surrogate agency in uproar. Total health sector and to prevent "bad media" harassment and unannounced visits, many intermediaries on the phone on her door to the customer request directly: you must first pay a deposit ranging from 1000-3000 per the actual exposure is possible.
"Chinese Baby surrogate net" for people on the phone out of the Jing mediated grievances: "pregnant with a child is not easy to make out other people's children, and all prior efforts all in vain." According to the Guangzhou media reports, since that three "surrogate mother" was taken to hospital, the hospital has seven times received threatening phone calls, claiming on behalf of all pregnant mothers unborn children the value of millions.
This statement is not exaggeration, this reporter learned that the more cases of surrogacy, the total cost of the Client in the 200,000 yuan to 400,000 yuan range. Intermediary services provided by a surrogate, generally divided into two types: one is the husband and wife and embryo transfer, or "test-tube baby", sperm, eggs are from couples, to use a surrogate mother's uterus, also known as "complete surrogate "; the other is artificial insemination, sperm from the husband, by the surrogate mother provides the egg from the surrogate mother was pregnant with fertility. Basically, a couple of artificial insemination and embryo transfer costs to be higher than the 5-10 million.
To husband and wife embryo, for example, a surrogate baby from fertilization to embryo, after approximately 10 months eventually born, middle painstakingly. From embryos cultured in vitro, they began to be man-made screening and control. As with any manufacturing, all to meet the needs of our customers - just a different baby goods replaced, period of 10 months.
The first step is to select the production "baby producers." Intermediary to pay a lot of money to deposit, the lengthy interview process begins. Intermediary in accordance with customer requests in a database to select a surrogate mother, education, beauty and height and other factors will have been carefully investigated. This is an extremely laborious process, not only because of the surrogate mother and the client often not in the same city, but also because it is often performed during the dramatic scene.
A multinational IT company in Shanghai, a work commissioned by the mother about her experience, she found that first introduced a few intermediate surrogate mother are very tricky, with some exposure to the girl dressed to interview; some face with dishes, obviously poor physical condition; Another time she picked a more satisfactory girl to the hospital for an examination but found to be hepatitis B carriers. She is looking at that and not as an intermediary on behalf of pregnant solemn promise in advance, as these people do careful physical examination.
Shanghai was the mother and her husband come to understand that they once paid to the agent an additional cost, and soon, to interview the "volunteers" clearly on the up a notch. "In fact, as long as you have money, these links can be omitted. This is the intermediary as a means to maximize economic benefits." The mother said.
Pick a good surrogate mother, the commissioning direction and the surrogate party intermediary to pay the first paragraph, including brokerage fees and hospital placements. Next, the surrogate entered a substantive stage.
In the first 21 days of the menstrual cycle, commissioned by the mother to accept Diphereline injection, two weeks after ovulation play needle. Under the action of two drugs, the mother can not be discharged only one egg a month limit, while more mature eggs discharged.
After the couple to take sperm oocyte retrieval in the hospital. 4 ~ 5 hours after the oocytes will be treated in the same sperm and egg in a Petri dish culture. Removed from the mother's body before a number of eggs after fertilization, this time by train into multiple embryos after 72 hours of placement, which through natural selection, the most active one or a few embryos to be singled out. Three days later, in cooperation with the private intermediary to reach the hospital, the embryo was implanted into surrogate mothers body.
Prior to this, the surrogate mother's body under the action of progesterone injection, also began to change. Surrogate mother's uterus mucosa glandular growth, uterine congestion, intimal thickening - this can inhibit the activities of pregnant uterus, placenta arising after implantation of a fertilized egg.
However, drugs are always double-edged sword, a large number of progesterone may also cause fetal spine, anus, limbs and other parts of malformations, the risk is 8 times the normal pregnancy. If you use synthetic progesterone, also make about 18% of female fetuses masculine. Center for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist Dr. JennitaReefhuis in November last year, "Human Reproduction," published in the journal article reported that IVF exists the possibility of birth defects is two to four times the normal infant.
There are risks in anything but the baby's desire to always get an overwhelming fear prevail.
Surrogate mother started the production of manufactured baby. They live in a house arranged by the Client or by the intermediary in the unified management. With the growth of fetus, they will begin to receive payment of periodic commission entrusted the family.
In nearly 10 months of pregnancy, the surrogate mother's blood pressure increased, heart disease, diabetes, hepatitis and other diseases, the risk appears to increase significantly, transplantation of embryonic palace cavity may also occur within the fallopian tube into the ectopic pregnancy. To ensure the "test-tube baby" success rate, the hospital will be transplanting are usually multiple embryos, the high incidence of multiple births, making it more prone to complications. These diseases are not necessarily the end of pregnancy disappear, some damage will be permanent.
10 months after the arrival of the most critical moment - a surrogate birth mother. Regardless of the commission side, surrogate mother, this is one of the most thrilling part.
Both sides need to face is the risk of all pregnant women have to face, such as coma, antenatal hemorrhage, placenta accreta, even better in the United States, medical conditions, pregnant women per 100,000 will occur in 11 deaths, while China in 2008 maternal mortality is three times more than the United States. No industry, producers are higher than the surrogate mother's body risk.
To prevent accidents occur, the client and the surrogate will sign an agreement in advance. The worst case death, if an accident does happen, compensation at market price on behalf of pregnant mother's life would be in exchange for 100,000 yuan in compensation, all written in a surrogate medium available to both contract template .
If all lucky, fetal birth to mother and child safe, then need to complete the last one inspection processes: paternity testing. After the loan settlement. Client to pay all of Qi "reward money", take away the child.
Surrogate mother and child get along with 10 months of separation. In most cases, both sides will be no more contact.
Who in the uterus for hire?
But babies are not commodities, a surrogate mother has also just make the baby "workers."
Yantian Liang is a director of Inner Mongolia Satellite Television, due to the reasons for recording programs, she contacted a lot of surrogate mothers, she found that: Although many surrogate mothers and their children, and claimed that no relationship, but in and their conversation, she can felt to be deliberately suppressed emotions. This sentiment and the age of inversely proportional to the surrogate mother, surrogate mother, if the first birth of life, her child's feelings is even more difficult to let go. Lin Qing, as a surrogate intermediate does not deny this: "Usually we would advise clients to choose had experienced a surrogate birth mother tested their physical, emotional and more rational."
Lin Qing information in library, the reporter saw a number of surrogate mothers information. Most of them around the age of 30, price for a birth experience has never been. "Confidential" and "security" is a lot of surrogate mothers in the time of registration elements repeatedly emphasized two points. They just want to complete the mission, take the money and run, do not want to be dragged into other disputes.
"Most people do surrogate mother for economic reasons. There is a need to pay off debts, have to go abroad." Qing Lin said. Once a surrogate mother surrogate income between about 10-15 million, which far exceeded their average income levels. Some people are short of money, some people missing children, the two sides finally reached a deal.
For a "surrogate" commercial activity itself, academic institutions in China have not yet carried out a research or public service organizations.
Columbia University professor Deborahs Parr (DeboraL.Spar) 2006 published a book "baby business", devoted to the assisted reproduction market status quo. In an interview, "Southern Weekly" interview, she said, the most to her surprise: she had been in contact in many industries, it is very evident in the first buyers and sellers, but also financial transactions, but no one admitted that they The industry is engaged in commercial transactions.
"When people engage in the behavior of infant trade, their inner nature to think this commercial activity is not comforting. I fully understand their uncomfortable, but the fact is that between them the existence of a business relationship."
In AA69 surrogate online, a "surrogate mother" level was divided into A-H Grade: A-level standards for the minimum, middle school education, general appearance, treatment of 40 000, to the H level, requires undergraduate degree, looks better treatment more than 100,000 yuan may be mentioned. This makes many people feel that the selection of goods in the supermarket no different.
"If the economy is not difficult, no one is willing to do this. After 10 months you can not see the family." Shandong Liaocheng a surrogate mother, said she knew most of the surrogate mothers are out of economic helpless.
This is a good risk to take for the money.
Collaboration with hospitals and intermediaries
Technology innovation always mean new industries, the rise of surrogacy and in vitro fertilization technology are inseparable.
March 10, 1988, the Chinese mainland's first case of test-tube baby was born in Beiyisanyuan. After 20 years, the rapid spread of test-tube baby technology applications, according to Health Ministry statistics, from 1988 to 2004, mainland China, some more than 10,000 cases of test-tube baby was born. At present, each province has a reproductive center of the country, with national standard qualification in the test-tube baby unit 138, they can create considerable amount of test-tube baby.
Hubei Tongji Hospital statistics show that in 2007, the hospital carried out a total of more than 1300 cases of in vitro fertilization procedure, there are more than 1800 cases of last year, is expected to reach more than 2000 cases, almost every year to about 40% annually.
Year over the first case of test-tube baby production Beiyisanyuan Obstetrics and Gynecology Director, Li-Zhu Zhang, in 1996 it completed the first test-tube baby technology surrogate. At that time the "surrogate" is a medical technology innovation, understanding of people still remain in the traditional Chinese "by abdominal Son", which do not understand.
Zhang Lizhu implementation of six cases of IVF surrogacy in five cases of success. Then the surrogate mother were found in the relatives and friends, and no commercial element mixed up.
But good times never last, in August 2001, the Ministry of Health promulgated the "Measures for the Administration of human assisted reproductive technology", is strictly prohibited surrogate motherhood, in vitro production of this new business aborted. Even today, it is still restricted the field of medicine.
Now 87-year-old Zhang Lizhu has retired, she did not expect that, in the Ministry of Health issued the ban after the technical community did not stop previous generations pregnant, on the contrary, the formal sector can not do things by the surrogate of private intermediaries, and some irregularities Hospital joint move underground.
Beginning in 2004, a number of surrogate intermediaries on the Internet, budding, root proliferation, a huge start building the secret business systems. By 2009, the Internet has been the existence of dozens of surrogate agency. Just how big this industry has now difficult to estimate. Lin Qing of the QQ in the mailbox, there will be a day more than 10 clients and the surrogate mother of enrollment, busy when she even have a chance to open one by one for each letter.
Most of the surrogate sites and private hospitals are closely linked. Unannounced visits to a number of surrogate's intermediary, many on behalf of the pregnant person in charge previously working at the hospital, there are conversational contacts. As the regular hospital review system is very strict, general test-tube baby in Beijing can only be completed in private hospitals. In order to dispel the hospital's healthcare concerns, "volunteer surrogate network" Sun Li guarantee the person in charge: may be referred to a Zhichun Road, Haidian District in Beijing's hospitals, the hospital is the first approved by the group of the Ministry of Health qualification test-tube baby in a hospital, a doctor has a doctoral degree in the old doctor, the success rate is very high.
In the surrogate costs, hospital costs accounted for more than 30% of total costs, including hospital doctors to introduce the individual fees ranging from 3-4 million, also need to pay some 10 million worth of medical expenses.
Worse, some of the technology is not mature hospitals have also joined the divided interests among the surrogate. As a leading authority in the Li-Zhu Zhang domestic medical community aware of the health risks of doing so: "Now the real disadvantaged groups is that these surrogate mothers, high risk pregnancy, once the accident who protect their rights?"
Beijing, told reporters that a surrogate medium, there were a surrogate mother during childbirth due to medical staff of technical errors caused by fallopian tube was removed. But they have no way, because she surrogacy agency located in the current 10 million population of this city only a cooperative hospital, which means that intermediaries, customers and the surrogate mother is not much choice.
Power everything down, from a real and strong customer desire: to have a child. Hospitals and huge profits will eventually be tied to the same surrogate intermediaries in a chain.
Final approach
In AA69 surrogate online, the reporter saw a "caring surrogate agreement," which Article 20 states: "Party, on behalf of the pregnant life shall never be with both parties inquire into all the other information on the true identity of the behavior."
Who is the child's mother? That is the surrogate face many ethical questions in one.
Some state regulations "birth mother who is" in some places admitted the mother of genetics, and surrogate mother found the baby not only the former is different in different latter, it is more in line with a "contract on the mother" defined.
But in the absence of law, any contract there could be useless. Ethical confusion brought endless controversy.
In the "Phoenix" and "A Talk on a tiger" program, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researcher at the Institute of news when Yu strongly opposed the surrogate system, he thought that clearly the price of the business, is a tool of female womb, surrogacy intermediary exposed naked commercial and industrial purposes.
And heated debate at the scene when the President Yu coiled a guest is claimed to be "Chinese surrogate father" of the Lv Jinfeng. Popular surrogate industry in China, from the middle-aged man can show his face on television frequently seen. From the outside looks very like an ordinary businessman in southern China, he preferred to call his own agency for the caring public interest organization, the management of his surrogate mother are called "volunteers", control their behavior is called "Love surrogate" .
Although able to bring together more than 30 cases a month, surrogacy agency fee charged per case of about 20,000 yuan, or front of the camera to show him: "Love is definitely the first place, and The intermediary fee income, it is just maintaining the company's basic operation. "According to his claim, as August 18, 2008," This site has been successfully signed 1586 cases of successful pregnancy and gave birth to 1,377 cases have been. " Marked according to its Web site the lowest price - to arrange for artificial insemination 198,000 yuan terms, beginning in 2004 founded Lv Jinfeng surrogacy agencies total turnover reached 200 million yuan at least.
Inner Mongolia Satellite TV "live" the director Yan Tianliang also asked Lv Jinfeng do a talk show, called "a mother of two children." When the host to a surrogate price list out - in which the surrogate mother is divided into different grades from A to H, the scene of controversy culminated with spectators in the audience shouted "shame!"
Guests of the reaction in Yantian Liang looks very interesting. "China's surrogate father," often showing a very intense look, often is sweating, and looked very embarrassed. "You do feel his own doubts of those things, at least in his view, has not said himself so noble and sacred." Yantian Liang said.
These programs later became Lv Jinfeng offered by the intermediary company's "free advertising." In the most conspicuous place on his site reads: "Site 21 times face to face news interviews." "They know how to use the media", Yantian Liang said.
In 2004, then retired at home, Li-Zhu Zhang a group of infertile patients received a joint letter sent to her, including a wrote: "Modern medicine allows donated liver, kidneys, sperm, why not allow egg donation and surrogacy what? even the best science and technology is not for the benefit of mankind, what is the use? "for these families, the pain of childbirth can not always like boulders ado pressure in their chest.
Two years ago, the first session, held in Hangzhou, China Branch of the Medical Association of Reproductive Medicine, Li-Zhu Zhang published the letter, many experts led the discussion at the meeting.
Finally the recommendations by the Expert Group are: the surrogate should not be banned, but should be strictly limited. In the formulation of relevant laws, while good, can be authorized by the Ministry of Health, Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of individual high-level group set up a surrogate; implementation of the surrogate prior to consideration by the Ethics Committee to the Ministry of Health to apply for designation. "This is to prevent flooding and reselling surrogate eggs can also be for those unfortunate patients with the hope of life", Li-Zhu Zhang said: "The ethical and human well-being must be balanced."
The proposed scheme has not received any relevant feedback. The past two years, the domestic surrogate intermediate site increased more than ten.
Yantian Liang, issue of the broadcast is almost off the hook after the call. She found that the ratings click rose to 0.2% over a week ago and turned over five times. Until six months after the program has also been repeated calls to the group, the Advisory Where can I find a surrogate mother. This time she realized that the Chinese people how serious fertility problems.
Chinese Medical Association, 2007 Association of Reproductive Medicine, a survey shows that married people in the proportion of infertility from 10% in 2000 to the present 15% -20% of individual areas in each of eight families have a family can not through natural means offspring. Despite the numerous surrogate controversial, but it is the way some families last.
Even if the open such as Hollywood, the movie "surrogate mother" in the end, avoiding a "surrogate" heavy ethical controversy, writer for the story back to the routine: the surrogate mother is pregnant with the child of her own, but almost impossible to become pregnant Kate has a child under the miraculous property. "Surrogate" here is just comedy elements and commercial gimmick.
In reality, a sad but also happy, but the miracle is always rare. (Should be required of respondents, Lin Qing as a pseudonym)
