In Greece, a 55-year-old grandmother, who lives in Heraklion on Crete set a lifelong goal to become a surrogate mother for her daughter and thus gave birth to her grandchild. The reason was that her daughter suffered from a rare syndrome, Mayer-Rokitasky-Küster-Hauser syndrome type 1, a condition which causes congenital agenesis.
The incident was disclosed by the gynecologist-obstetrician of the “surrogate grandmother,” Alexandros Zervakis, through a post on social media, in which he mentioned—among other things—that the two women had several failed attempts in the past.
“I have been waiting for 30 years and I was afraid of this moment,” said the grandmother after the birth who did everything for her daughter to be happy with a child of her own.
What kind of complications did the grandmother face?
The doctor explained the difficulty of the achievement, with time being a primary factor, and the one failed attempt which was also a risk factor in further attempts.
“They were very frustrated and hesitant,” said the doctor. “After the first meeting, and with time pressing unbearably, we had to come up with a concrete plan, since the ‘grandmother-parent’ needed several corrective interventions—in my opinion—to be able to conceive. And not only that, there were additional difficulties: her pre-existing hypertension, her age and the strict legal framework.”
“The preparation alone took two whole years!” the doctor revealed. “This preparation included surgeries, multiple tests, a series of committees for approvals from the National Infertility Authority and many other technicalities. But in the meantime, the fertilized eggs from the daughter and the groom were put aside until the difficulties were overcome.”
The first unsuccessful embryo transfer
“The time for the first embryo transfer came, but it failed,” explained the obstetrician-gynecologist. “Despite the failure, the strength and desire of the couple and grandmother to bring the child into the world overcame every obstacle.”
Two months before the license for the last embryo transfer expired, the second attempt was made, and this was successful. The doctor says, “The pregnancy was very high-risk, but now the willpower overcome every obstacle.”
The mother, who was now the bearer of a little “miracle,” had dozens of questions. I remember her asking me if we would be successful in achieving this in Greece, and I had reassured her that everything would be fine.
The moment the grandmother gave birth to her grandchild in Greece
“And, finally, we got to the moment when I announced the grandmother would be delivering the baby,” said the doctor. He recalled how happy the parents were as they stood by the grandmother’s side as she was getting ready to bring their child into the world.
A beautiful and healthy baby boy was finally delivered by the grandmother, the surrogate mother, only a few days ago in Heraklion after nine months of pregnancy and much strife.
