‘Even today, some have hang-ups’
transferred to the surrogate. “I believe this is the first time a same-sex male couple in Scotland will be having not just one but two babies using this technique,” Dr Gaudoin said.
“It was a legally complex situation as well as being medically challenging.”
For Ryan, a finance associate, it has been a particularly emotional journey.
In 2012 he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and was advised to have sperm frozen if he was ever thinking of starting a family.
At the same time, his mother was fighting ovarian cancer.
“Mum may have died but I know she has still been with me every step of the way,” said Ryan.
“She knew I wanted a family some day and we wanted her to be with us when we tried for a child.
“When the eggs were being transferred to our surrogate mum at the end of January she held my mother’s wedding ring in her hand and pressed it to her tummy.
“Now we are having twins so I feel my mum is still very much with us.”
Chris proposed to Ryan, whom he met in 2013 after his recovery from chemotherapy, in December 2014 during a helicopter trip in New York.
“We were flying over the Statue of Liberty when he suddenly produced an engagement ring,” said Ryan.
“I could hardly say no.” The couple fostered a toddler two years ago and the excited youngster can’t wait to meet the new arrivals.
After discovering twins were on their way the couple moved to a bigger house, where a nursery has already been completed.
“As soon as we heard there were two heartbeats we knew we would need a place with a few more rooms,” Chris said. “And when we found out we are having a boy and a girl we decided against traditional blue and pink and have decorated their room in neutral colours.
“We already have twin buggies and Moses baskets and the babies have been kitted out with wardrobes full of clothes. We have also had these amazing crocheted blankets made by friends. Our friends and family are buzzing about it.
“We have become good friends with the surrogate mum. She wanted to help us out because we are in a same-sex relationship and Ryan and I will both be at the birth. We can’t wait.”
Riikka Kirk, surrogacy coordinator at GCRM, said: “Chris and Ryan are a lovely couple and it is fantastic they are expecting twins after the tears when two previous attempts didn’t work out. We try to do the very best for people, regardless of their sexual orientation.
“They are well grounded guys who will make very good parents. It is nice to be able to share their joy.” THE leading fertility expert who performed the IVF procedure said that he was “disappointed but not surprised” the samesex couple were turned down by a number of other Scots clinics.
Dr Marco Gaudoin, medical director at GCRM, where the treatment took place, said surrogacy is a legal minefield.
“I believe this is the first time in Scotland we have had the combination of a Scots surrogate, frozen eggs from a Scots donor plus a Scots father, and it is twins,” he said.
“It was legally and medically challenging.
“We put in two eggs as a bit of a belt and braces operation and both started growing.
“I am disappointed that some clinics would turn down same-sex couples but it is not surprising that some still have prejudices.
“Even these days some people still have hangups about treating gay men but I am a libertarian and treat everyone as being the same.”
In recent years GCRM has hit the headlines for some trailblazing achievements.
In 2013 the centre produced the first baby born in Scotland using new EEVA (Early Embryo Viability Assessment) IVF technology.
And in October 2008, the clinic scored a world first when a baby boy was born as a direct result of the use of a new fertility drug Pergoveris.
Widely covered in the media, GCRM were the treatment providers in this landmark case.
Dr Gaudoin said superstar rocker Elton John and his husband David Furnish having children with a surrogate mother had helped more gay couples consider IVF and surrogacy as a way of having a family. “The profile that Elton John and his partner have given to this has been good for helping with the acceptability of ethical issues surrounding treating gay men.”