Sergio and Ian

About Sergio

Date of Birth: June 4, 1990

Citizenship: Spanish

Occupation: Engineer

About Ian

Date of Birth: Jan 3, 1986

Citizenship: Spanish

Occupation: Lawyer

Location: Madrid, Spain

Medical Information:

General Health:

We are a healthy couple with neither minor nor major health conditions. We take no medication either.

Fertility Information:

We have 8 PGS tested embryos made with the help of a donor’s eggs. Our donor is semi-known. If necessary we are able to create more embryos.

Fertility Clinic:

CReATe Fertility Centre in Toronto, ON

Why are you looking for a Surrogate?

We have always wanted to become parents. We babysat every young member of our families since we were barely teenagers! When we met, one of our early talks was about family and having children. We figured out that we both wanted to become parents together. We established our family as a couple and we wanted to make it bigger. So we explored different options in Spain such as adoption, foster care and surrogacy; but sometimes, for an LGBT couple, it can be really difficult to adopt or to enter into foster care in Spain. So we decided to explore international surrogacy and we found that Canada was THE place. We wanted to be sure that surrogates were protected by the law and that the system provided all possible safeguards for both the Surrogate and the Intended Parents- so here we are!

Tell us about your family & loved ones.

Ian’s parents have 4 grandchildren already and they really love children. As a matter of fact, Ian’s father is the ‘favourite grandfather’ of all his grandchildren. They have not renovated their house since 2004 when Ian and his siblings left the nest, because they want to preserve the bedrooms for the grandchildren. Sergio’s mom cannot wait to become a grandmother! She is continuously asking about the progress we are making in our journey. She has kept a bunch of the books and toys that belonged to Sergio and is brother for future grandchildren. Both of our parents are really supportive with the idea of growing our family and they are excited to hear the progress we have made in starting our family. We are a very close knit family.

Sergio’s brother, Diego- is his best friend (though that was not the case when they were children!) He is even more excited than his mom at the idea of becoming an uncle. He loves every kind of sport and he is already talking about how much he and his future niece/nephew will play together.

Ian has 2 siblings- Vanessa and Axel. Axel is an expert in video games and music and he loves to help the youngsters develop musical skills and grow their imagination. Vanessa has 4 children and lives close by so she will be happy to lend a hand when needed.

In our close circle of friends and coworkers, everyone is aware and supportive of our journey. Our friends are growing their families too so our children will also have other children around to play with and grow up with. Together with our closest friends we would like to build a safe community for our children.

Would you like to attend appointments with your Surrogate?

Yes, we would like to attend some of the obstetrical appointments with her. We are aware that we live in Europe (a little bit far away) but if she feels comfortable with it, we would like to go with her to a few of her medical appointments. Ideally, we would like to attend the embryo transfer, one or two medical appointments during the pregnancy and the birth. However, this would totally depend on her and how she would feel about it.

What are your thoughts on termination of a pregnancy due to genetic abnormalities or complications related to the pregnancy?

We have discussed this for quite some time now. Even though the 8 embryos have been already tested, we are aware that there is no guarantee of no genetic abnormalities. In the case of congenital defects that could be severely limiting, that create a dependency for life (ie. Down Syndrome) or put the baby or the Surrogate’s life at risk, we would like the pregnancy to be terminated, and if possible, to try a transfer again.

However, we would reconsider our decision on a case-by-case basis if congenital defects do not affect the child’s capacity to develop freely and healthy (ie. deafness or blindness).

If the Surrogate becomes pregnant with multiples, how would you feel? How do you feel about the possibility of selective reduction being recommended due to a multiple pregnancy?

We would love the idea! (If the Surrogate’s life is not at risk) It would be wonderful to have more than one baby at a time and to watch them grow up together, becoming a big family from the start.

If selective reduction is recommended by the doctors, we would accept it. We understand the opinion and recommendation of the doctors have to be taken into account to ensure the babies’ and the Surrogate’s well being.

Are you vaccinated for Covid-19? Do you have a preference for a Surrogate to have been vaccinated for Covid-19?

We are both vaccinated for COVID-19. We are totally fine with working with a Surrogate who is not vaccinated for COVID-19.

What kind of relationship do you want to have with your Surrogate during the pregnancy?

Ideally, we would like to be in touch once a week for e-chatting and, if possible, to help in any way we could. We know that the Surrogate’s family and friends are going to be there for her, and that she has a life of her own, so we don’t want to become a burden to her. We are 100% easy going, so we can adapt. We would like to have a close relationship because we would like her to be part of our family and the children’s life; however this would totally depend on her and how she feels about it. We are sure that we will make it work.

We would like to travel to Canada to meet her in person and to enjoy some time together if that works for her and her family. In any case, we are planning to travel to Canada at least 3 times- for the transfer, once during pregnancy and at birth.

Do you want to be in the delivery room when your child is born?

Totally! We would love to be there, however, once again it would depend on the Surrogate and how she feels about it. (and of course the doctor’s recommendations)

What kind of relationship do you hope to have with your Surrogate after the birth of your child?

We would like her to be part of our family and of the child’s life. The Surrogate will be one of the most important people in our child’s life and the person who made it possible for us to become parents!

Our children will be half Canadian and half Spanish, so we would like for them to know and preserve their Canadian roots, culture and traditions. For us, it is important that the baby feels at home in both countries; Canada and Spain. Therefore, we are planning to go quite often to Canada together with our children to explore the country and to ensure that they keep in touch with that part of their origins. We think that they could not understand themselves without understanding the different and multiple pieces and people that came together to make our family (and them) possible.

Ideally, we would like to have a videocall in special occasions such as birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Eve.

Would you be open to a home birth?

As long as there is a medical professional in attendance, we are fine with a home birth.

Are you open to midwifery care?

We would rather increase the safety of the Surrogate and the child in case complications arise in childbirth, so we would prefer obstetric care. However, we are open to discuss midwifery care if that is the preference of the Surrogate.

Would you like your Surrogate to provide breastmilk?

We feel breastmilk feeding would be beneficial for the baby, however this would totally depend on the Surrogate. We are completely open to her wishes and we will adapt to her feelings about it. Moreover, we have to return to Europe at some point after the birth, so it would be limited to the first few weeks.

What will you tell the child about the Surrogate, and the circumstances of their birth? If your child asks to meet the Surrogate, how will you feel?

We want to be fully transparent and straight forward with our children. We would like them to understand that it is love that made them possible. Love from their parents, their grandparents, our friends, the egg donor and the love and generosity of the Surrogate. Thus, we want them to progressively understand surrogacy and how their family is built. As they grow older we would explain more in detail until they have the whole picture and the tools to fully understand what a family is and how ours is made.

If the Surrogate feels comfortable with it, we would like to keep in touch from the very beginning with her so our children could fully integrate the Surrogate and her family in their lives. We would be very happy if the child asks to meet the Surrogate. Ideally, they will not need to ask about it because they will be in contact from the beginning! In any case, we will be more than happy for our children to meet the person who made this happen!

If the transfer is unsuccessful, will you want to try again? If so, how soon after?

We would like to try again as soon as the doctors recommend and the Surrogate is up for it.

If this surrogacy journey is successful, would you want to complete a sibling journey? What do you envision that looking like? (timeline, same Surrogate etc.)

We decided some time ago to go for at least 2 children. We are in the 1+1 program at our fertility clinic with the intention to complete a sibling journey in the near future. Both of us have siblings and we find that it is quite important for the babies to have that bond. When the time comes, if the Surrogate wants to help us through that journey again, we will be thrilled even though she has already done more for us than we could ask for.

What are your plans for childcare once the child is born?

We are staying in Canada for a month after the birth. Then, in Europe we will enjoy a ‘paternity leave’ of three more months for each of us. After that and according to the needs of our child, we will either extend our paternity leave, reduce our working time or we will consider a nursery.

What does a typical weekend look like for you?

Weekdays are usually quite hectic in Madrid, so we normally use the weekends to spend quality time together.

On Fridays we are both home early, so we cook lunch together, and in the evening we might have a little date night- going out for dinner, a movie or to the theatre. If it has been a hectic week, we prefer to stay home and just ‘Netflix and Chill’.

Saturday mornings we either do some sports (Sergio skydives and Ian swims), do groceries, or even tidy up the house before meeting our family or friends in the afternoon. Saturday evenings are for culture and arts (Madrid is wonderful for this!) We look for art exhibitions or live music in the nearby areas of Lavapies and Malasana (2 of the best and most vibrant districts around). We also enjoy going for drinks with friends (even if Sergio prefers drinking water instead of beer).

Sundays vary quite a bit. We either go hiking to the ‘sierra’ (a range of mountains around the city) or just enjoy some time at home cooking something nice (lasagna, paella, ratatouille etc.), watching a movie, or having a well-deserved nap.

OR- we do not do any of the above and just make a short trip somewhere in Spain or Europe (most of the European capital cities are a 2-hour flight away. We also like going to our hometowns to visit family.

What are some of your interests/ activities?

We like to do activities both individually and as a family.

As a family, we love travelling (we have travelled a lot in the past and we even lived on our own in places such as Paris (Ian), Tokyo (Sergio) and together near London. We love hiking, a good movie night, theatre, plays and musicals, opera and ballet, spending time with family and friends, boardgames and cooking (Sergio cooks and Ian eats whatever Sergio cooks!).

Sergio loves doing outdoor sports such as climbing, archery and skydiving. He also enjoys going to the gym, reading novels (currently he is reading Dune’s saga), X-men comics and manga, studying (usually Japanese), movies (he has quite the collection ranging from Disney to horror to sci-fi to indy films.) He also enjoys videogames, spending hours looking at the sea or stars, science and astronomy (he has designed and built several satellites) and above all- he just loves sleeping.

Ian loves reading a lot (before going to sleep he loves to hold a book in his hands to have a new adventure every night), he loves theatre (and has directed several amateur plays), opera (he sang opera as a child), he loves swimming (he gets up early every morning to swim), he loves history and politics (he is specialized in International Security), he loves red wine and to have a glass of wine/beer with friends while talking and above all- he loves music. Unless he is moody, he is always singing or humming around.

We are well aware that these activities will change once the baby arrives, but we cannot wait for it to happen! It is going to be the best adventure of our lives.

“We both come from large families and very close to our families. We used to travel a lot and in our travels we have visited many bookstores accumulating quite the library of children’s books for our future child to enjoy. We love visiting the non-tourism side of the places we travel while also taking in the culture through visiting museums. Some of our favourites have been the Museum of Natural History in New York, The African American History Museum in Washington, DC, the British Museum in London, Le Musee D’Orsay in Paris and of course, the Prado Museum in Madrid.

We are both really involved in social activism. Sergio has spent several years volunteering; teaching classes to drug people with substance abuse issues, and 5+ years coaching LGBT youth. Ian has spent time teaching Spanish to migrants and marches every year in the Pride for LGBT right and for LGBT culture. We also spend time helping the homeless when we can.

We can’t wait to include our child in these causes and spend countless hours reading stories and making shadow puppets on the walls! Our families are looking forward to meeting our future child and seeing us both as parents.”