A maternity doctor in Nagano Prefecture who handles surrogate births in defiance of an industry guideline barring the practice said Thursday his clinic failed to recruit a surrogate mother from the public before the end of September.
"At this point, we have to give up a surrogate birth by publicly seeking a woman who can act as a surrogate mother," admitted Yahiro Netsu, director of Suwa Maternity Clinic in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture.
Netsu announced the public recruitment in April and about 40 women had contacted his clinic by August.
However, none replied to the followup questionnaire the clinic sent them to confirm their desire to go through with the surrogacy.
The women appeared to have been put off the idea by the questionnaire asking them if their families were willing to provide support to them if they become ill after getting pregnant or giving birth, and if the families would understand if they lost their life in the process.
"Such questions may have caused them to change their minds," Netsu said, adding the clinic will consider compensation measures.