Vietnam welcomes first surrogate twins

The twins, who are two boys weighing 2.1kg and 1.9kg respectively, arrived at 10:35 am at Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Ngoc Hai, head of the infirmary’s Division for Planning and Assortment, said on March 18.

The babies are currently stable, respiring well, and responding positively to bottle feeding, Hai said, adding that the hospital is expected to hand the twins over to their family on the same day.

Their biological mother is a 29-year-old woman hailing from the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, who had asked a 34-year-old cousin of her husband’s to bear the babies since she has neither a cervix nor menstruation although her ovary is functional.

Vietnam legalized surrogacy for humanitarian purposes on March 15, 2015, though the law regulates the process strictly, only allowing relatives of the mother or father to be the surrogate mother.

The first surrogate baby in Vietnam was born on January 22, 2016 at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Hanoi.

Prior to 2015, surrogacy of any kind was completely outlawed in the Southeast Asian country, and infertile couples had to travel abroad to perform the procedure.

Now, only three public hospitals are allowed to perform surrogacy in the country, which are the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the north, Hue Central Hospital in the central region, and Tu Du Hospital in the south.

The surrogate mother expressed her happiness being able to help a relative’s family, while the couple was so blissful to finally see their sons after years of persistent efforts.

According to Tu Du Hospital’s records, since July 2015, the infirmary has received 33 registrations for surrogacy, 20 of which were approved by the medical council.

Up until now, six out of the 11 embryos transferred have resulted in pregnancy.