S3E13: A Ukrainian Story ft. Senator Mary Seery Kearney, Sinead Gallagher, Ciara Merrigan and Cathy Wheatley

Welcome to My Surrogacy Journey - The Podcast is the UK's leading multi award winning podcast from a non profit UK surrogacy organisation.

Trigger Warning; Pregnancy, Baby Loss and Infertility

Just in time for St Patricks Day! Today's episode is more than a treat for your ears, this episode gave us all the feels and more. We're honoured to also have Senator Mary Seery Kearney join us live in the studio. Yes, and she’s also the mother of a child born through surrogacy and has an intimate knowledge of this form of assisted human reproduction as a means to build your family. The episode also features three other amazing women, Sinead Gallagher, Ciara Merrigan and Cathy Wheatley.

Michael and Wes are parents themselves through surrogacy to two children (Talulah is 7 and Duke is 4) they continue to advocate, campaign and strive to improve the landscape of surrogacy in the UK and globally. Addressing safety, exploitation and educating those about the real truths about safer surrogacy.

Our season 3 sponsor

We have a fabulous sponsor for our Season 3 podcast. Manchester Fertility were founded in 1985 and has an exceptional team of fertility doctors, nurses, embryologists and patient support staff. Manchester Fertility remains one of the leading fertility clinics in the country to this day, delivering more than 8,000 babies.

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Guest Bios;

Senator Mary Seery Kearney who is not only the Fine Gael Senator and party spokesperson on Children Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth, but also a leading advocate for the provision of a legal framework to ensure that both intended parents have full, life long, legal relationships with their children.

Cathy Wheatley

Spokesperson for Irish Families Through Surrogacy

IFTS are an advocacy group campaigning for legislation which will give full recognition to our children and those born in the future. Their hope would be that by the end of the year (their) children and future children would have the regulation, protections and ethical safeguards in place

Ciara Merrigan

Ciara had a hysterectomy in 2014 as a result of a cancer diagnosis. This led Ciara and her husband Michael down the surrogacy pathway to create their family . They started this journey In 2015. After a few bumps in the road in August 2018 Clara and Matthew were born in the Ukraine. Finally our dream of having a family were fulfilled thanks to the most wonderful lady who carried them. In October 2020 Ciara cofounded and chairs Irish Families Through Surrogacy to campaign for surrogacy legislation

Sinead Gallagher

Sinead and Mark went through 14 IVF cycles with a number of early miscarriages. They reached a point were they had no other viable option to have a family. Snead had suffered with grade 2/3 endometriosis for years, and had elements of polycystic syndrome as well as issue with her immune system. Sinead became a committee member of Irish Families Through surrogacy when she returned from Kyiv with Theo.

Available wherever you get your podcasts. My Surrogacy Journey - The Podcast is a Talulah and The Duke Production and is recorded in Dublin.

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