Story of Chris and Paul, Australia

As a same sex couple, we only had the option of surrogacy or adoption available to us. We wanted to have a child that was genetically related to us, which is why we went with surrogacy.

When we got married in 2016, we were very lucky that a family member offered to be an egg donor and another family member offered to be a surrogate. We were able to create some embryos in Australia, but unfortunately, when it came time to implant the embryo, our surrogate suffered a medical condition, which meant it wasn’t safe for her to get pregnant. As a result, we were unable to proceed with the implantation, and this left us without a surrogate. For several years, we tried online forums to find another surrogate, but because surrogates cannot be compensated in Australia, it proved to be very difficult to find anyone willing to be our surrogate. There aren’t any agencies in Australia to help connect intended parents with surrogates. It was in 2023 that we were informed by friends (same sex couple) that they were pregnant with an agency in Argentina. This led us to reach out to GS Consulting. We were very lucky that we got pregnant the first time with an embryo we shipped from Australia, and our surrogate gave birth to our son in October 2024.

We chose to proceed with surrogacy in Argentina based on a recommendation from our friends who were pregnant at the time with a surrogate in Buenos Aires. The reason we chose Argentina was that it was a relatively safe country, and we were told that the intended parents would be registered on the birth certificate rather than the surrogate. Unfortunately, there was a change in the legal framework part way through our pregnancy, which meant that only one of us could be registered on the birth certificate along with the surrogate. This means that we will have to proceed through the court system to obtain a parental order to transfer parentage to us. While we were in Argentina, there were a lot of issues due to the government changing the rules regarding surrogacy, which meant additional delays. However, we were able to work with the GS Consulting team during this process to try to navigate the complexities one step at a time. We ended up staying in Argentina for just over 2 months to obtain the relevant documents to leave the country.

The GS Consulting team was very supportive throughout the journey. They provided us with regular updates on the surrogate’s pregnancy, including copies of the relevant medical documents for our records. They also connected us with the surrogate in a WhatsApp chat group so that we could communicate directly with her. As the surrogate only spoke Spanish, it was helpful to have someone from GS Consulting in the group in case there were any translation issues. They also supported us by providing small gifts to the surrogate regularly, such as chocolates and fruit. When we arrived in Argentina, the team was great, making sure that we had a translator at any appointments and providing us with a coordinator to reach out to for any questions or requests. They were all extremely friendly and made us feel at ease. They also ensured that we had a cot, bath, and carrier for the baby so that we did not have to buy these. Our surrogate gave birth in the early hours of the morning, but the GS Consulting team made sure there were people onsite with us to support and also coordinate the hospital. After the baby was born, the coordinator came with us to all of the required appointments to obtain a birth certificate, identification document, and passport. They became friends to us and gave recommendations on where we should go for social activities. Overall, we felt well supported by the GS Consulting team and were very grateful for this. This was particularly appreciated, given that other couples that we met in Buenos Aires did not have positive experiences with the support that their agencies provided. Although there were issues with the framework in Argentina, which made our journey more complicated, we would be happy to proceed with GS Consulting for a second journey in the future.

Story of Chris and Paul, Australia