First male gay couple to be offered IVF treatment in the UK, set to welcome baby son this summer

A gay couple, Ross and Chris Muller. who are the first male gay partners to receive In-vitro fertilization (IVF), are set to welcome a new baby boy this summer.

The couple from Edinburgh are the first male same-sex couple to undergo fertility treatment through the UK’s national health service after government banned using surrogate mothers.

The ban was lifted by the Scottish government in 2018 meaning that all couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, are eligible for free IVF treatment.

A surrogate mother, from Cambridge, was hired through a private company and a total of eight embryos were created from donated eggs and Ross’s sperm before one was transferred into the surrogate last November.

The couple married in 2017 after meeting a decade ago and can’t wait for friends and family to meet their son.

‘I think a lot of same-sex couples, male and female, don’t know that this exists, like we didn’t until we found out about it.’ He added: ‘Before we knew we could get it on the NHS we looked privately and the surrogacy journey is about £45,000. After we contacted the NHS, they initially said they wouldn’t look at us. ‘We had to keep pushing on that door and it was new to the hospital so they hadn’t done this before. That’s when they told us that we would be the first in Scotland to go through this.

Chris, 38, said: ‘We just can’t wait for it to happen after so long of waiting and fighting for it. ‘The nursery is now finished, we’ve just moved house and had a blank canvas, so got to work on that. ‘Both our families have been over the moon – it is my mum and dad’s first grandchild so they can’t wait.’