Edinburgh gay couple first in Scotland to be granted IVF on NHS are expecting a baby boy

A gay couple have spoken about how excited they are to welcome their baby into this world, reports the Daily Record.

The first gay couple in Scotland to receive IVF on the NHS have said how excited they are to welcome their baby into this world, reports the Daily Record.

Ross and Chris Muller, from Edinburgh, looked at getting access to fertility treatment privately, but were put off by the cost.

For the last two years the pair have been seeking support and guidance to have IVF on the NHS, and with the help of MSP Ash Denham their dream of having a child has come true.

The first gay couple in Scotland to receive IVF on the NHS have said how excited they are to welcome their baby into this world.

The progressive move makes them the first male same-sex couple to have a baby through IVF on the NHS.

The happy couple, who married in 2017, said they cannot wait to meet their baby boy who is due to be born to a surrogate mother in early August this year.

Ross, a primary school teacher, told the Daily Record: “We knew we were doing the right thing and we just know the joy children can bring and we wanted to have some of that and to be part of it.

“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.

“Adoption, as amazing as it is, shouldn’t always be the way that same-sex couples go and the NHS does have an open door because we’ve gone through it.”

They 33-year-old said the couple’s baby will be his parents’ third grandchild, but the first boy, so they are “delighted.”

He added: “I know our lives will change but it will be for the better.”

Chris, 38, told the publication: “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.”

The couple told the newspaper that they initially looked at adopting, but came across other methods they could use to have their own child and decided to pursue the surrogate mother option.

Despite being turned away by medics at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary at the beginning, Ross and Chris, with the help of Denham, managed to go through IVF treatment on the NHS for free, according to the Daily Record.

Eight embryos were created from Ross’s friend's eggs and his sperm before one was transferred into the surrogate, who was hired from a private company in Cambridge, in November.

Ross added: “Before we knew we could get this on the NHS we looked privately and the surrogacy journey is about £45,000 if we did it all privately.

“That is start-to-finish, semen analysis, retrieving the eggs etc but we have not paid a penny.

"The NHS has done everything from start to finish pretty much. We were prepared (to go private) but then we thought, ‘Actually we pay in like everyone else, why wouldn’t we get something out?’.”

Chris said that he hoped more same-sex couples would know the process is open.