THE three childless couples sitting in the Akanksha Infertility Clinic waiting room greet each other politely, almost wearily.
Strangers in a foreign land, they have only just met. But there seems to be an almost telepathic understanding as they begin to share their experiences and the circumstances that led them on the path to surrogacy.

John* and Sue, a Californian couple of Korean descent, shift about nervously in their armchairs. Both 37, they are veterans of seven intra-uterine insemination (IUI) and three in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) attempts.

John, a college consultant, explains their deep-seated frustration: 'We've been married for 11 years. That's a lot of time trying to have a baby.'

After spending a staggering US$100,000 (S$146,000) exhausting all options in pursuit of their dream of becoming parents, they came across a newspaper article on surrogacy in Dec 2007.

After researching the topic, they struck up e-mail correspondence with Dr Nayna Patel. 'After a short wait for an available surrogate, here we are,' he says.

Sue elaborates: 'Of the four surrogate mothers who were matched up to us, we chose a widow who really needs the money for the family. Her husband died a year ago from cancer and she has three kids - 14, nine and five - so they're really young. I feel for them.

'If we get a baby, our lives will be changed. We want to make a difference in their lives as well.'

Many foreign childless couples have been heading to India since Dr Kamala Selvaraj facilitated the country's first case of surrogacy back in 1994. Besides being attracted by the low costs of surrogacy, most say they head for India because of frustration with failed fertility procedures and a lack of alternatives in their native countries.

Huddling on the couch are a soft-spoken Icelandic couple, carpenter Haraldur, 33, and business manager Frida, 31. They have been disappointed by one of Europe's leading IVF specialists back home. Now they are hoping surrogacy will finally end their wait for a baby.

Frida says: 'We have tried for almost seven years. It just didn't happen. The only other option we have in Iceland is to adopt a baby, but that takes five years or more. We don't want to wait that long but we also don't want to adopt a baby. We want a big family.'

Perched opposite is another Californian couple, Tony, 42, a computer investigator, and Trisha, 34, who has lupus, a medical condition that makes it dangerous for her to conceive.

A mask covers part of Taiwan-born Trisha's face. She is feeling unwell, unused to the smell of buffalo dung and the local food.

'All that spice, I'm still recovering from diarrhoea. But nothing's going to come between me and my baby,' she vows.

The relentless heat and incessant honking do not add up to a conventional romantic holiday destination, but such fertility tourists are on the rise in India these days.

In the fast-paced financial capital of Mumbai, the business of surrogacy has turned itself into a one-stop centre for childless couples to enjoy a no-frills holiday and get a baby out of it.

In order to ease the culture shock and emotional distress, a Mumbai-based organisation is offering travel packages to its clients that covers airfare, lodging and crucially, a baby.

Surrogacy India is a first-of-its-kind fertility service provider in the country, claims founder Dr Sudhir Ajja, providing 'group tours' that handle the needs of every couple that wants to rent a womb.

'From the time they get down at the airport to the time they go back, we give them a fixed price and it covers anything that you can imagine,' Dr Ajja says. Packages cost about US$20,000 covering items like plane tickets, accommodation, transportation, a surrogate mother and three cycles of IVF. The surrogate mother gets about US$4,500.

Co-founder Dr Yashodhara Mhatre believes the all-encompassing package sets her clients' minds at ease by lessening the stress of the treatment, from the moment they arrive at the world's second-most populous nation.

'The clients are very apprehensive about India because it already has a 'Third World' tag attached to it. We wanted to make the journey much more comfortable for the patient,' Dr Mhatre says.

The organisation was started three years ago and business has picked up in the last year. Through its website - www.surrogacy india.com - Dr Mhatre and Dr Ajja link up and exchange information with foreign couples. By the end of last year, Surrogacy India delivered 10 babies to its clients, with a success rate of 35 per cent.

But as to how these fertility tourists intend to break the news to relatives and friends upon their return home - with new-born in tow - most of the couples interviewed say they are still undecided.

Frida says: 'I think nobody has done surrogacy in Iceland. We just told our friends we are coming here on holiday. We will worry about telling them later.'

It is not only foreigners. Locals and non-resident Indians make up the bulk of some surrogacy clinics' clientele in India.

Indian-born Deepak, 41, and Smita, 40, flew in from Georgia, Atlanta, where surrogacy is illegal, after 'every doctor had given up on her in America'.

Deepak says: 'My wife's body treats the embryo like a foreign object and she would run a fever, which kills the egg. So, she's an unsuitable candidate for IVF.'

Smita says: 'We were devastated then. But when I saw the Oprah Winfrey TV show on surrogacy, I felt there's light at the end of the tunnel. This is our first and last resort.'

But at least one prospective parent is already visualising a homecoming to India for his new 'complete family'.

Holding Sue's hand, John says: 'We hope that 10 years from now, we can come by here again and show our son or daughter where he or she was born.'

* Names of all intended parents have been changed at their request.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.