Thousands of euro have been raised for a baby who was left with his surrogate mum after his parents refused to take him home because he has Down’s Syndrome.
An Australian couple have been widely criticised after refusing to take six-month-old Gammy from his Thai surrogate mother, despite accepting his twin sister who was born without Down’s.
A campaign has since been started to help the mother raise the six-month-old baby, who also has a congenital heart condition and needs urgent medical treatment.
The Hope for Gammy campaign has already raised more than $140,000 (€104,000).
Pattaramon Chanbua, 21, was reportedly paid $15,000 to be a surrogate for the unidentified Australian couple.
However, when one of the twins she was carrying was found to have the genetic condition, the couple decided only to take the healthy child, leaving the mother to care for Gammy alone.
The Australian couple, upon learning of Gammy’s condition four months into the pregnancy, told Ms Pattaramon to have an abortion but she refused as it went against her Buddhist beliefs.
Ms Pattaramon, who already has two children, says she cannot afford to pay for the Gammy’s medical costs.
She said, “‘The money that was offered [to be a surrogate] was a lot for me.
“In my mind, with that money, one, we can educate my children; and two, we can repay our debt.”
Our thoughts are with little Gammy and his family at this time.
