Commercial surrogacy is outlawed in Australia but in *** more than *** babies were produced for Australian couples at overseas clinics.
Research to be presented at the Brisbane ASPIRE conference this week shows infertility will this century become the third most widespread health condition behind cancer and cardiovascular disease.
With more than 48 million infertile couples worldwide the development of modern IVF clinics in places like India and Thailand has seen poor women in these countries turn to surrogacy for an income.
Melbourne mother Melissa Hay simultaneously paid two women in India to carry her three children Jack, Lily and Sophie who were born on the same day in December ***
They were three of the *** babies who have been produced at the Surrogacy Centre India.
Mrs Hay had ovarian cysts and had her ovaries removed at the age of 23.
She unsuccessfully tried IVF using donor eggs and by her late 30s Mrs Hay was too old for adoption.
She gave up on the idea of having children until she saw a news program on surrogacy.
After researching six surrogacy centres in India Melissa chose Surrogacy Centre India because she was able to meet the women who would carry her babies and felt they were doing it for altruistic reasons.
