Phan Thi Hang Oanh (L) and Tran Thanh Son at a police station. Photo courtesy of the police
A woman in Hanoi was arrested on Monday to be investigated for facilitating commercial surrogacy services.
Phan Thi Hang Oanh, 35, saw a demand for children from families unable to have them, as well as a rising single-parent trend. So, she created a social media page to connect those who want children with surrogates and sperm and egg providers, investigation found.
In March 2020, a man in Hanoi contacted Oanh looking for a surrogate. Oanh said she would look for an egg provider so it could be fertilized by the man’s sperm. The egg would then be transferred to a surrogate. The price would be VND700 million ($29,510), Oanh said.
She then contacted a 30-year-old woman to “buy her eggs” at VND30-50 million and offer to give her VND270-340 million to carry the fetus. After procedures at the hospital were completed, the fertilized egg was implanted into the woman’s body, but failed to grow. Oanh only paid the woman VND50 million as a result.
She then hired a 24-year-old woman to become a surrogate for VND320 million. The implantation was successful, and the woman was taken to an apartment in Hanoi’s Long Bien District to be taken care of during her pregnancy.
When the case was busted, Oanh had received VND420 million from the man who requested her service.
Police said Oanh had purchased fake papers and documents from Tran Thanh Son, 37, to admit both potential surrogates to hospital. Son said he sold Oanh a fake household registration book for VND3 million, a fake ID card for VND1.5 million and a fake marriage registration for VND1.5 million.
Vietnam bans surrogacy for commercial purposes, only allowing it for humanitarian reasons.
Son is being investigated for forgery.
