There is nothing quite like the bond of sisters, but how far would you be willing to go to help yours out? One sister sacrified 9 months of her life to make sure her sister would know what it was like to be a mom.
Kristen and Dave Kost of Harrisburg spent 5 years trying to start a family, suffering 5 miscarriages during that time. Kristen says that every little dreams of being able to carry her own child, and to hear the words that you can`t do it, was very difficult. ‘It`s one of those things where you feel like you have no one in the world who understands.” she says.
However, just when she was giving up hope, her younger sister DeAnne stepped in offering to be the couple’s gestational surrogate. “I knew I could do something for her that we both can experience for the rest of our lives,” DeAnne said.
It’s a gift though, that she couldn’t have given even 30 years ago. That’s because the first successful surrogate pregnancy was not until 1985. Even though doctors are seeing more of them now, Dr. Melanie Ochalski at the Fertility Center in York County says they still only help about 5 couples per year.
‘not many talk about it, and i think the isolation adds to the emotional challenge of it.’, she said about fertility problems.
Dr. Ochalski says fertility issues are challenging for couples and that a successful surrogacy depends on the health and the age of the woman who is supplying the eggs.
A doctor transferred 2 embryos into DeAnne’s uterus in December of 2012. And even though not all surrogates get pregnant on the first try, a few weeks later they got good news: DeAnne was pregnant. 9 months later, she gave birth to Kristen and Dave`s son, Camden. Kristen says it’s the greatest gift she’s ever been given
and that she could never repay DeAnne even if she had a million lifetimes.