In what is becoming a relatively familiar social experiment in Western countries, now a 67 year old Greek woman gave birth to her own grandchild earlier this week, after her own daughter was prevented from becoming pregnant due to a serious illness.
Meanwhile the head of the Athens Medical Association George Patoulis noted that this medical milestone was yet another proof of the excellent standard of Greek doctors, who were on the cutting edge worldwide.
The baby girl, born Tuesday, December 20 weighing one kilo and 20 grammes, was reported to be in excellent health along with her surrogate mother.
According to obstetrician-gynaecologist Constantine Pantos, the head of the "Genesis" clinic in Athens that supervised the procedure, the 67 year old grandmother is reported to be the oldest surrogate mother in the world to carry a pregnancy for the specific ailment in the international literature.
The pregnancy was carried to the 31st week, with the IVF and transfer of the embryo conducted by Pantos and his team with permission from judicial authorities, while the labour took place at the Gaia maternity clinic in Athens, with a team of specialist doctors attending.
Under Greek law, a court order is needed in order for an embryo created with genetic material from a couple to be implanted in a surrogate mother that is willing and able to carry the pregnancy. The couple must present the findings of medical examinations proving an inability to have children.
"For us, this case was yet another major scientific challenge and one more frontier we wanted to cross. Unique successes like this are, in any case, the reason why Greece has in recent years become the starting point of a dream for many sub-fertile couples from every corner of the world," Pantos said.
