News excerpts:

The Central government has amended the Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022 and notified that both gametes (egg or sperm) need not come from a married couple in case they are certified as suffering from a medical condition.

Changes introduced by the amendment:

• Earlier, Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022 stated that couples undergoing surrogacy must have both gametes from the intending couple.
• The latest amendment comes after the Supreme Court asked why the Centre was not taking a decision on the matter. 
• The couple can have a child born through surrogacy but must have at least one gamete from the intending couple.
• The District Medical Board can certify that either husband or wife constituting the intending couple suffers from a medical condition necessitating use of donor gamete (egg or sperm), then surrogacy using donor gamete is allowed.
• A single woman (widow or divorcee) undergoing surrogacy must use self-eggs and donor sperm to avail surrogacy procedures.

Gamete and Gamete donation:

• A gamete is a reproductive cell of an animal or plant.
• In humans, female gametes are called ova or egg cells, and male gametes are called sperm. 
• Ova and sperm are haploid cells, with each cell carrying only one copy of each chromosome. 
• Gamete and embryo donation is using eggs, sperm, or embryos from someone else in order to help an intended parent(s) have a child.

Ethical issues of donor gametes:

• Some countries and societies ban the use of donor gametes in IVF and other assisted reproductive treatments. 
• Supporters of these bans maintain that third-party gametes damage marriage, pose dangers to children and families, put donors at risk, and endanger society at large.
• These views are open to moral dispute. 
• Secular moral philosophy does not require couples to rely on their own gametes only to have children. 
• Families can thrive even if children vary in their genetic relationships with parents and siblings. 
• The use of donor gametes merits close attention in matters of safety and oversight, but there is no effect that is so damaging to children, donors or society that justifies closing off their use altogether. 
• Moreover, bans on donor gametes can sometimes be evaded through reproductive tourism, which raises questions of justice for those unable to afford that option.