Tuoi Tre exposes underground network of transnational commercial surrogacy in Vietnam

While altruistic surrogacy is legally permitted in Vietnam and many other countries as a way to help infertile or subfertile couples have children, this noble purpose is being exploited to fuel an underground commercial surrogacy network, with prices ranging between VND350 million ($14,500) and VND600 million.

After two years of monitoring numerous online surrogacy groups, a team of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters uncovered a cross-border surrogacy ring managed by a Chinese ringleader through operatives in Vietnam. 

Many women burdened by debt and in 'urgent need of money' quickly became brokers themselves, allowing the network’s reach to expand widely.

A professional brokerage system

Within social media groups like 'Surrogacy and Egg Donation,' 29-year-old Leo, whose real name is T.T.K.S., coming from former Binh Duong Province, and D.T., whose real name is T.T.D., are well-known, experienced surrogacy brokers. 

Both work under a Chinese boss commonly called Andy.

According to Leo, surrogate mothers can choose from common options such as: embryo transfer in Thailand - pregnancy care in Vietnam - childbirth in Thailand; embryo transfer in China - pregnancy care in Vietnam - childbirth in China; or embryo transfer in Cambodia - pregnancy care in Vietnam - childbirth in China.

Leo particularly recommends the 'embryo transfer in Cambodia' option, with consultation and embryo transfer in Cambodia, due to its travel convenience. One only needs a passport and a bus ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to the Moc Bai border checkpoint, then on to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.

Leo proudly shared in their group that a sister who had just arrived in Cambodia already had an embryo transfer scheduled, and after 25-30 days, when a fetal heartbeat is detected, she would return to Vietnam for pregnancy care.

Meanwhile, D.T. regularly posts recruitment ads for surrogate mothers in groups and on her personal page. 

Both Leo and D.T. clearly display detailed price lists and even share bilingual files in Chinese and Vietnamese.

The price list shows that a surrogacy case in Thailand costs VND424-524 million ($17,700-21,800). Twin pregnancies add VND70 million ($2,900), and a C-section adds another VND30 million ($1,250).

Payments to surrogates are made based on pregnancy milestones: a VND10 million ($420) bonus after successful embryo transfer, an VND8 million ($330) monthly living allowance for eight months, and up to VND198 million ($8,250) upon childbirth.

However, surrogates aged 35-38 have VND30 million ($1,250) deducted. If preterm birth occurs before 32 weeks, a deduction of $1,000 is applied, and no 'red envelope' cash bonus is given. 

D.T. provided detailed instructions: “All embryos are ready; there are plenty in Thailand. If you don’t want to self-care during pregnancy, I have an apartment in [now-defunct] District 9 [in Ho Chi Minh City] where two pregnant women are currently staying.”

The reality of commercial surrogacy

In November 2023, Leo arranged for H.T.L., 33, from erstwhile Quang Nam Province, to take the train to Ho Chi Minh City to start her 'womb-for-rent' journey. 

She openly admits she is married with a four-year-old child and is struggling with a VND400 million ($16,700) debt.

“Though I miss my child, I’m determined to take this trip to change my life. This is the fastest way to pay off my debt. Working paycheck to paycheck, who knows when I’d be free of it? Plus, going out eases my mind - I’m constantly harassed by debt collectors,” L. shared.

On the morning of November 22, 2023, L. arrived at Saigon Station and was directed by Leo to the T.Đ. hotel in then-District 5. 

That afternoon, Leo helped her book a bus ticket to Phnom Penh. 

In Cambodia, a contact named T.A., part of Leo’s private group, met them. 

Leo said the clients were mainly Chinese couples, and if all went smoothly, the birth would take place in China for easy handover of the baby.

Leo also connected another woman, born in 1990, from Dong Nai Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City, to join the 'womb-for-rent' trip. 

The next afternoon, the two women traveled by coach to the Moc Bai border checkpoint to complete immigration procedures for Cambodia.

After nearly eight hours of travel, they were taken to an apartment on the 33rd floor of a building in Cambodia, serving as a gathering place for surrogate mothers. 

The group numbered about 25, divided into two rooms. 

“My room has 11 people, some waiting for fetal heartbeats, others monitoring beta-hCG levels and the endometrial lining,” L. described.

The first step was handing over passports for photos to be sent to a shared management group. 

On the first morning, L. was taken to Đ.R. Hospital for an examination to schedule an embryo transfer. 

"I thought there’d be few people, but I was shocked by how many there were,” she said.

On July 25, 2023, L. sent a photo of a healthy baby boy about one month old, her surrogate child for a Chinese couple. 

Besides nearly VND200 million ($8,250) in the remaining compensation, L. also received a 'red envelope' containing 5,000 yuan ($730). 

“When I handed over the baby at the hospital, I cried so much. At first, I thought it was just a job, nothing personal. But paying off some debt made me feel lighter,” she confided.

From surrogate to broker

Notably, many women who were surrogate mothers quickly became brokers, explaining how the network grew like tentacles reaching far and wide.

L. shared that by the 17th week of her pregnancy, she befriended her boss on messaging app Zalo and officially became a broker like Leo, earning a commission of $1,000 for each recruit. 

“Finding one person a month is good enough,” she said.

She proudly revealed that the network is well organized. 

Brokers like Leo, D.T., and L. in Vietnam are just the beginning. 

In Cambodia, T.A. manages transportation; Th. oversees surrogate mothers; Coca handles visa procedures. 

For each pregnancy milestone, an accountant transfers payments, and during childbirth, nurses and caregivers support mothers and newborns.

Ambitious to profit from brokerage, on March 8, 2025, L. flew from former Quang Nam Province to Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for her second trip to Cambodia, ready to bring anyone interested in surrogacy to earn additional commissions.

N.T.P.T., 28, from Ho Chi Minh City, was once a commercial surrogate like L..

After a successful surrogacy deal in September 2024, the compensation helped pay off debts caused by her husband’s gambling.

T. also dreams of becoming a broker to raise capital for business. 

"I went to Cambodia with Leo for embryo transfer but it failed. Then I went with Ms. D.T. to Thailand and was lucky to succeed. Afterward, I returned to Vietnam for pregnancy care with 3-4 others in an apartment in [then] Binh Chanh District and gave birth at T.D. Hospital,” she recounted.

Li, from Ho Chi Minh City, boasted she bought a house with earnings from two previous surrogacy deals and is currently in her third. 

"Now my surgical scar has become raised and looks terrible,” Li revealed, lifting her shirt to show long scars on her stomach.

“The first time, I gave birth in China legally, but because I was greedy, I stayed five months to monitor my endometrium. Due to an expired visa, I was detained at the border on suspicion of illegal crossing when returning home.”

For the first two surrogacy deals in China, Li was paid 150,000 yuan ($20,900); twin pregnancies brought 170,000-180,000 yuan ($23,700-25,080). 

On her third trip in Cambodia, she lived with 17 others in an apartment. 

"As long as I’m healthy and strong, I can still work. Some people have already gone four times,” Li shared when asked if she planned a fourth trip.

Crackdowns, all-inclusive contracts

Vietnamese authorities have actively cracked down on illegal surrogacy rings.

In January-February 2021, police in Hanoi prosecuted Hoang Hue Tam, 27, from Thai Nguyen Province, northern Vietnam, for organizing commercial surrogacy and fraud. 

Tam used social media to recruit infertile women and surrogates, mostly students aged 18-25. 

Each surrogacy cost VND300-700 million ($12,500-29,000), with Tam pocketing VND100-200 million ($4,200-8,300).

In September 2022, the same agency prosecuted Phan Thi Hang Oanh, 35, for organizing commercial surrogacy and Tran Thanh Son, 37, for document forgery.

On November 12, 2023, police in Hanoi took legal action against Tran Thi Bich Thuan, 47, and Tran Thi Bich Van, 40, for organizing commercial surrogacy charging VND800 million ($33,000) per singleton pregnancy and VND1.5 billion ($62,500) per twin pregnancy.

In November 2023, police in then-Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam dismantled the largest surrogacy and organ trafficking ring in the central and Central Highlands regions of the country.

Surrogacy cases cost VND450-600 million ($18,700-25,000), egg donation VND25 million ($1,040), and kidney transplants between VND900 million-1.45 billion ($37,500-60,400).

Despite such crackdowns, the commercial surrogacy market operates discreetly in various forms. 

From a post in the 'Surrogacy and Egg Donation,' L.C.T. expressed a desire to have a child at a cost of VND300 million ($12,500). 

He previously tried it at a clinic in Ho Chi Minh City for VND270 million ($11,250), but it failed. 

This time, he wanted to “take the eggs” from the surrogate mother to save embryo creation costs.

Besides the option in Ho Chi Minh City, T. also mentioned Cambodia or China at VND380 million ($15,800). 

Surrogates may self-care during pregnancy, with a monthly allowance of VND5 million ($210), or return to Dong Nai Province for easier monitoring.

A woman named M. from Hanoi claimed to be a full-package broker in Vietnam, sending a contract specifying VND1.3 billion ($54,000), including embryo creation, transfer, screening, nutrition, medication, care, and medical incident management. 

The contract guarantees continuation until the surrogate mother successfully gives birth.