Thai surrogate mother of a baby with Down syndrome abandoned by Australian parents says she cannot afford baby Gammy's medical treatment

Updated

The Thai surrogate mother of a baby with Down syndrome who was abandoned by his Australian parents says she has been left to provide for the child, who also suffers from a life-threatening heart condition.

In an exclusive interview with the ABC's Samantha Hawley, Gammy's impoverished mother Pattaramon Chanbua described how she loves the baby boy as if he was her own, but cannot afford the medical treatment he needs.

Ms Chanbua lives about 90 kilometres south of Bangkok with her two other children - a six-year-old and a three-year-old.

The 21-year-old fell pregnant with twins but the Australian parents abandoned Gammy and only took his healthy sister home with them.

Gammy is currently in hospital again undergoing treatment after falling ill.

In December last year, Ms Chanbua gave birth to the twins after agreeing to be a surrogate with a promised payment of about $16,000.

"Because of the poverty and debts and the money that was offered was a lot for me. In my mind, with that money we can educate our children and repay our debt," she said.

But things went wrong - it was established that one of the babies had Down syndrome.

I felt sorry for the boy. It was like this is the adults' fault and who is he to have to endure something like this even thought it's not his fault? Surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua

"I felt sorry for the boy. It was like this is the adults' fault and who is he to have to endure something like this even thought it's not his fault?" Ms Chanbua said.

"Why does he have to be abandoned while the other baby has it easy?

"I feel sorry for him. I don't know what to do. I chose to have him, not to hurt him. I love him. He was in my tummy for nine months, it's like my child.

"I treat him like my other children, never think you are not my child and I don't care for you, never."

Along with Down syndrome, baby Gammy has a hole in his heart.

He will need expensive surgery into the future - something his surrogate family cannot afford.

While Gammy's Australian parents abandoned him, the general public has not.

A campaign on online fundraising site GoFundMe has already raised nearly $100,000.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs says the alleged circumstances of the case raise broader issues relating to surrogacy in Thailand.

In Australia, people from New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT are prohibited from entering a commercial surrogacy agreement overseas.

In Thailand the ruling military is cracking down on an often unregulated IVF and surrogacy industry - and for Australians already using Thai surrogates it is an anxious time.

Topics: family-and-children, pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, australia, thailand

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