UKRAINE FAST BECOMING ‘ONLINE BABY STORE’

KIEV: Tears of joy stream down Andrea Viez’s face as she lifts her baby boy, born to a surrogate mother in Ukraine. “He’s a star,” the Argentinian in her late 40s says, her voice trembling. After 9 years of trying to have a child, Viez can finally hold her son in her arms, thanks to a booming surrogacy industry in Ukraine that has given hope to thousands of struggling would-be parents. But behind their dream- come-true is a highly profitable and murky business that many worry is taking advantage of desperate young women and operating in a grey zone open to abuse.