I know absolutely nothing about surrogate mothers, so I am posting my question to the people of straight dope. When choosing a surrogate mother, can you use a family member, say a niece or something, or does that increase the chances of complications during preganancy or complications with the development of the baby?
Also, is there a moral issue with this such as incest? I think that is kinda far-fetched, but curious to see if that is the case. The situation is, there is a friend of mine who is single and is about to miss his chance on having children. He wants to purchase the egg and donate his own sperm. In terms of the surrogate mother, two of his nieces have volunteered…so is this some sort of incest or morally wrong? Also, would there be any physical effects, such as deformation or complications with pregnancy?
Using one of his nieces to carry a child conceived via in vitro fertilization with a donor egg would be one thing, and might well be possible, but no reputable doctor would allow a niece to be a surrogate for her own uncle using her own egg.
The protocols for using donor ova with a surrogate are extremely complex and there aren’t a lot of places where one can find these kinds of services. A lot of careful research would be needed.
But I’ve got to ask, how is this guy going to lose his chance to have a child of his own? Men don’t go through menopause. They can father children well into their 70s and beyond. There is no ticking clock hanging over his head. If he’s worried about having healthier, younger sperm, he could bank some.
I feel compelled to point out that if he wants to have a child, another option to consider is adoption.
I completely understand the adoption aspect of this, but he wants a child of his blood.
In regard to the original question, the mentioned gentleman is not married, nor has he met anyone he is interested in enough to marry. But he does want children. In respect to the question about him having his niece carry the baby, I meant he would buy an egg through one of the services and have his sperm to make the child. They would then put it in the surrogate mother (this is where the niece comes in). I am obviously showing ignorance in how all of this works, but what I have stated above is the scenario. Hope that clears some things up.