Jasmine Bowley was just seven when she developed a type of cancer called Pelvic Ewing’s Sarcoma, which affected her ovaries, Fallopian tubes and womb.
As she got older, she started to think about how it would affect her ability to have children, something which became more pressing when the 21-year-old met her partner Daniel, 27.
The couple, from Norwich, Norfolk, wanted a child of their own and initially tried hormone replacement therapy and hoped they could have IVF.
But the treatment failed and they were devasted.
Wanting to help, Jasmine’s mum, Sabrina, 39, has stepped in to volunteer to carry the child – which will be conceived using Daniel’s sperm and a donor egg – and give birth to her own grandchild.
But now they need to raise £20,000 to complete their dream family.
Mum-of-four Sabrina said: ‘I feel like it’s the only and biggest thing I can do for my daughter and her partner. To give them the gift of life would make all my dreams and her’s come true.
‘I’m a proud mum and will be a proud grandmother.
‘People have been telling me that I’m a wonderful and amazing mum for agreeing to do this but I’m not.
‘I’m just helping my daughter out as any other mum would. It just so happens that in this instance I’m going to help her become a mum.’
Jasmine was diagnosed with Pelvic Ewings Sarcoma aged just seven and bravely beat the disease.
But her Fallopian tubes and ovaries were removed during surgery to remove her cancer while radiotherapy damaged her womb.
Having dreamt of becoming a mum for most of her life, the only option available to Jasmine was hormone replacement therapy which would hopefully encourage her womb to grow and allow her to become a mum via IVF.
She said: ‘If the hormone replacement therapy had worked I would have been able to have had artificial insemination.
‘Becoming a mum would be a dream come true for me and something I’ve always wanted.
‘I’d had hormone replacement therapy as a teenager and even though it didn’t work I still thought I’d have a small chance of becoming a mum naturally.’
The couple had a heart-to-heart with Sabrina and she offered to be a surrogate.
Sabrina, a mum-of-four, says she may even give birth naturally.
She said: ‘When we realised we had no other option than to go privately it was spoken about who would be the surrogate and I offered to do it after a long conversation between the three of us.
‘It only seemed right and best for me to do it and I have had other pregnancies all healthy and fine.’
Jasmine, Daniel and Sabrina plan to raise the £20,000 needed for the procedure through GoFundMe before Sabrina undergoes IVF to become pregnant using Daniel’s sperm and a donor egg.
Legally, when Sabrina gives birth she and Daniel will be the parent’s at the time of birth but Jasmine and Daniel have said they will apply for a parental order to allow Jasmine to become the baby’s legal mother.
All three have all said they will be completely open and honest with their child and grandchild about their birth.
Daniel said: ‘Jasmine is the love of my life.
‘She told me a week into the relationship that she probably wouldn’t be able to have kids. It was a shock but of course I didn’t mind.
‘We’ve looked at all the options over the last few years and knew about two years ago that I would have to give sperm.’
Jasmine said: ‘The moment mum said she’d do it it didn’t sink in. We’ve had so many knock backs.
‘All of our friends and family have been so supportive.
‘Becoming a mum will be everything to me, it will complete my life.’
A spokesman for Surrogacy UK said: ‘Surrogacy is a beautiful way to create a family – full of trust, friendship and love and surrogacy teams made up of friends, or family members are common in the UK.
‘Luckily for those intended parents who don’t have a friend or family member to help, more and more surrogates are coming forward every day, whose dream it is to carry a surrogacy pregnancy.
‘Around 400 babies a year in the UK are created through surrogacy, and as it becomes a more acceptable way to have a baby, it is only set to increase.
‘In the UK, openness, honesty and lifelong friendships are encouraged, so the children born are lucky to have parents that love them, but also a loving relationship with their surrogate too.
‘The IVF postcode lottery means that anyone undergoing fertility treatment in the UK may have to self fund, however surrogacy IVF is usually much more expensive than normal IVF. This means that intended parents have to save thousands of pounds before they can even start on their journey.
‘Not only are intended parents dealing with not being able to carry their own child, they have the added pressure of financial infertility too.’
Have you had a baby through surrogacy? Share your story with us at metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.
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