China's surrogacy sector to expand following second child policy

Surrogacy businesses in China are expecting a new wave of customers following the end of the country's decades-long one-child policy and allow all couples to have a second child, the media reported on Tuesday.

The Communist Party of China's Central Committee announced on October 29 at the end of a four-day plenary session in Beijing that the country will ease its family planning policy and allow all couples to have two children in order to help deal with the aging population.

A week after the announcement, several surrogacy agencies said there has been an increase in the number of people reaching out to them about having a second child through a surrogate mother, the Global Times reported.

"There are three types of customers; the first type is those who are too old to risk giving birth to a child or due to the fact that the eggs of those aged over 35 have a bigger chance of having chromosomal abnormalities. The second type is those who have problems with the womb," said an official from a Shanghai surrogacy agency.

"The third type is those who want to decide the gender of the embryo," Li said.

Surrogacy was officially banned in China after a ruling in 2001 that no medical organisations or personnel would be allowed to be involved in any form of surrogacy. Violators faced a fine of up to 30,000 yuan ($4,730) and had to bear criminal responsibility.

However, many surrogacy agencies continue to operate, with many of them arguing that the law only banned hospitals and medical organisations from engaging in surrogacy but did not ban surrogacy organisations or agencies.

These organisations and agencies charge from 350,000 to 2,000,000 yuan for their whole package -- from medical checks to delivering the baby.

Despite these organisations and agencies claiming that surrogacy is safe, experts do not recommend women over 35 using their eggs for surrogacy.