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Dr. Gad Lavy at New York screening of "Google Baby"

As it got multiple airings on HBO2 this month, the documentary “Google Baby” revealed a familiar face to viewers in the greater Stamford area.

Dr. Gad Lavy, medical director of the New England Fertility Institute, which has offices in Stamford, Hamden and Shelton, appeared in a number of scenes of this 2009 film, as director Zippi Brand Frank explored the economics, logistics and ethics of in vitro treatments and surrogacy.

In particular, the director turned her attention to the opportunities globalization is presenting to couples seeking a more affordable process of creating a baby. The film shows the journey embryos make to a clinic in India where Indian women are impregnated, with the hope they will soon start carrying a baby with which they have no genetic connection.

Lavy is shown as he works with Doron Mamet, a businessman who has launched Tammuz, an international surrogacy firm based in Tel Aviv. Lavy is filmed retrieving eggs from a donor at his Stamford operating room that will be used to make the embryos.

“He is really the star of the movie, Lavy said of Mamet, during a recent interview at Lavy’s Stamford offices.

Mamet launched Tammuz after he and his partner had a child through surrogacy. His aim was not only to share his experiences and help others, but also create a cheaper alternative to the surrogate process.

Mamet, who undertook the surrogacy process in the United States, notes in the movie that he and his partner paid more than $100,000. By “outsourcing” the surrogacy process to India, the cost of the process is about half of what it would be in the U.S., according to Tammuz’s website.

“This gives people an opportunity or other option they didn’t have before,” Lavy said, noting this is the first international surrogacy program in which he has participated. “One of the things about this field that is exciting is that every few months, there is something new.”

Since 1991, Lavy and his team at the institute have worked with those hoping to start a family by providing various services, including gestational surrogacy, which uses in vitro fertilization to implant an embryo into a surrogate who can carry and deliver the baby safely for its biological parents or parent.

Lavy noted that while several of his clients have used this “global” option, the majority complete the surrogacy cycle in the United States.

Establishing surrogacy arrangements with Indian women has generated some controversy. Some have expressed concern that the women may be exploited or that medical standards are not the same as they are in the United States. Others worry about legal repercussions if something goes wrong in the process.

Such an arrangement may work for some people, but Shirley Zager, director of the Organization of Parents Through Surrogacy, said she has her doubts. Without talking about one particular clinic or service, she said the distance could make it difficult for would-be parents to see the state of the clinics and how they operate, as well as meet the surrogates and take part in the birth.

She said it is particularly important to do careful research and extensive homework. Otherwise, they may not be happy with the end result.”

“Google Baby” will run on HBO2 on demand through July.

Staff writer Christina Hennessy can be reached at Christina.hennessy@scni.com or 203-964-2241.