SURROGACY BABY STEPS
Ottawans open a ‘fertility consultancy’
Wanted: women willing to give their time and their bodies to help other women become mothers — for purely altruistic reasons.
Ottawa’s Liz Ellwood and Lisa Casselman have opened up a new fertility consultancy to help infertile couples find egg donors and surrogates. Fertility Match is one of fewer than 10 such agencies across Canada. And they all face increasing demands for egg donors and surrogates in a seller’s market.
Ellwood, 34, and Casselman, 41, have seen both sides of the surrogacy equation. Ellwood was diagnosed with cervical cancer at 24. Despite freezing eggs at the McGill Reproductive Centre in Montreal, they were not viable. She eventually decided to find an egg donor and a surrogate mother. She now has a five-year-old daughter.
Ellwood met Casselman while looking for a surrogate. Casselman was already carrying a baby for another couple, but the two remained friends. Casselman is the mother of eight — she already had three children and a stepchild and became a surrogate twice after that, carrying two sets of twins for separate couples.
“We’re looking to find some amazing people and guide them through this journey,” Ellwood says.
There are few statistics, but demand for donors and surrogates in Canada is much higher than supply. Between 2014 and 2015, the number of embryo transfers made to a surrogate increased by 23 per cent from 413 cycles to 533, according to the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society.
Egg donation and surrogacy are legal in Canada, but donors and surrogates can’t charge for their services, although they can be compensated for their expenses, such as medical costs and pregnancy-related expenses, such as clothing, food and exercise classes.
We’re looking to find some amazing people and guide them through this journey.
Egg donors and surrogates should get “reasonable compensation,” according to a national group that represents fertility specialists and scientists.
“Allowing reasonable compensation helps prevent abuses, ensures fairness and transparency, and improves access to care for those seeking third-party reproduction,” says a position paper from the Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society.
Under the 2004 Assisted Human Reproduction Act, the purchase of eggs and sperms from donors or anyone acting on their behalf is illegal, as is the purchase of embryos, or paying a fee to a surrogate. However, donors and surrogates are permitted to seek reimbursement of expenses related to the donation or surrogacy, as long as they provide receipts.
But it’s unclear exactly what expenses are permitted, says the CFAS. Under the act, punishment includes a maximum fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for as long as 10 years.
The restrictions and penalties in the act have severely limited the number of donors and surrogates available to Canadians in need, including infertile men and women, cancer survivors, those who carry genetic disorders, same-sex couples, and single men and women, says the CFAS.
Late last year, Health Canada announced plans to draft regulations for the section of the act that deals with the reimbursement of expenses for donors and surrogates.
Many Canadians are waiting indefinitely, or resorting to other means, such as cross-border reproductive tourism, says the CFAS. Others import donor eggs from countries where compensation is legal. For example, it’s legal for Canadians to import frozen eggs from a U.S. egg bank. It costs about $18,000 for between five and seven eggs, says fertility lawyer Sherry Levitan.
The paper does not outline what would be considered reasonable compensation.
Levitan, who is a member of the CFAS board, says the society is not advocating for a free market. It’s possible to regulate reasonable fees, which would encourage more women to be an egg donor or surrogate, she says.
“You would have more women stepping forward if they were compensated for their time and effort and medical risk. Canadians would have more choice and opportunity,” she says. “We believe it should be regulated instead of instituting a system of prohibition.”
Only one person has ever been charged under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act. In 2013, consultant Leia Picard and her company, Canadian Fertility Consultants, were fined $60,000 for offences that included illegally paying fees to women to donate eggs or act as surrogate mothers.