Dear wonderful woman considering surrogacy,

Even just the fact that you are thinking about helping others to build a family speaks volumes about the incredible generosity of you and every woman reading this letter. We couldn’t be more grateful that you are taking the time to read our personal story and we hope for the opportunity to get to know you.

We are Martijn (35) and Stan (31) from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. We met almost ten years ago in Groningen, a city in the north of the country where Stan was studying and Martijn had just started a new job. It was love at first sight, and we have been inseparable ever since. Recently, we got engaged, and this year will be a special one, because we are getting married in May!

Stan is a surgeon in training and a passionate healthcare enthusiast. His work inspires him every day, feeding his curiosity and providing him with opportunities to connect with people from all walks of life. Martijn works as an HR Manager at an international energy company, where he thrives on solving difficult challenges and on supporting his team members reach their full potential.

Aside from all the serious matters in our lives, we enjoy spending time with friends and family. We enjoy unwinding through rowing, swimming, cycling or running, and through sharing quality moments together—whether by visiting art house cinemas or by exploring museums. Together we like exploring European cities and spending longer holidays abroad. We fell in love with Canadian nature while canoeing in Algonquin and hiking in the mountains of Quebec. We loved strolling through Toronto and Montreal, enjoying the vibrant city atmosphere and the incredible restaurants and museums that these places have to offer. But most of all, of course, the people and their kindness stayed with us.

We feel blessed to come from very warm and loving families—Stan with his parents and older sister, and Martijn with his parents, an older brother and a younger sister. We are fortunate to have our extended families living relatively close by, which allows us to share many special moments together. Over two years ago, our beautiful nephew was born, and we are proud to be his godfathers. More recently, we welcomed a sweet niece and two other nephews into our lives, bringing even more joy and love to our family gatherings. We love the simple pleasure of seeing them stroll through the zoo near our house or watching them laugh and play in our garden.

Starting a family has always been our biggest dream. In discovering surrogacy, (especially in its altruistic form in Canada, a country we share so many values with), we found hope that our dream might actually become a reality. With the incredible support of Stan’s sister, who became our egg donor, we took our first step in this journey in September 2025 (with 7 PGT-A tested euploid embryos). During this step, our niece (Stan’s sister’s daughter) celebrated her first birthday in Canada, making this an unforgettable family moment. We have shared the first steps of our journey not only with our families but also with our close friends. Feeling their love and support gives us enormous energy and the strength to take the next steps forward.

Finding a woman who wishes to embark on this very special surrogacy journey with us still feels a little surreal. The opportunity to realize our dream of building a family would be something we would cherish for a lifetime. We would love to build a warm and open relationship with you, with mutual respect as the most important factor. The strength of our own relationship lies in our ability to openly share and discuss our feelings and emotions, and we would cherish creating that same sense of trust and connection with you. 

We can only hope that our story has touched you. We know that it is almost impossible to fully articulate our gratitude to your or any other caring and loving future surrogate that would be willing to help us with our dream. And if indeed you end up being that wonderful person that embarks on this adventure with us, we can only be eternally grateful to you and your family for your immense gift.

With love,

Martijn & Stan