"It was the worst thing I could have imagined,

the thought that I might never have a child.

I think we shouldn't judge people."

Options such as surrogacy or using donor eggs are illegal in Germany.

So, when all else fails, many couples seek help abroad.

"It's a huge taboo. Everything has been criminalized in Germany..."

But elsewhere it's become a multi-billion-dollar industry.

"The people who do these things aren't criminals.

These are just procedures that help people fulfil their dream

of having children."

But many of the surrogates and egg donors

are acting out of financial need.

"I mean 900 Euros —

that's nearly twice what I earn in a month!"

Egg donation and surrogacy are a lucrative business in Europe.

But at what cost?

Franziska Ferber always wanted children.

But it just never worked.

Like so many, she exhausted all the legal options

for reproductive medicine in Germany.

The hormone treatments caused her to black out and injure herself.

But even that didn't deter her:

"The thought of not having children was so horrific to me

that no matter what setback I suffered, I'd pick myself up,

reactivate my hope, and try the next thing.

And so gradually we widened the limits that we were prepared to go to,

and said we'll try again."

With a donated egg, she could have probably got pregnant.

In Germany it's illegal.

She could have got the treatment abroad

and faced no legal consequences,

but her conscience wouldn't let her do it.

"Everyone who doesn't get pregnant in the “normal” way,

so to speak, suddenly faces ethical questions.

And in the end, you have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror

and live with your decision."

Much is possible medically but remains ethically controversial.

Egg donation is legal in many western countries

and a handful of countries allow surrogacy too.

In Germany, only the standard fertility treatments are allowed.

Heribert Kentenich heads up a fertility treatment center,

one of more than 130 in Germany.

It's been more than 40 years since the birth of the first “test tube baby”,

as the procedure was initially dubbed.

Medicine has come a long way since then.

In Vitro Fertilization is now standard.

110,000 I-V-F cycles are performed in Germany alone, each year.

Germany also allows sperm donation

and passed additional legislation in 2018.

But egg donation is not allowed.

That involves taking the egg of another woman during IVF treatment.

The embryo is then transferred to the prospective mother.

Surrogacy is also banned.

Here another woman is artificially inseminated

and carries the baby to term on behalf of the parents.

The embryo stems from the sperm and egg of the prospective parents,

or donors.

Two years ago Germany strengthened its egg donation laws.

The legal constraints placed on these procedures

have been hotly contested for years.

Germany's National Academy of Sciences,

has long criticized the restrictions,

which are based on a law dating back to 1991.

"Say I have a 38-year-old female patient

who's no longer producing eggs.

There's a medical side to the case and a psychological and emotional one.

I have to tell her that even with IVF she probably won't get pregnant.

Using a donor egg would be an option for her.

But I can't advise her on that,

otherwise the state prosecutor will come knocking."

He says every year thousands of women seek help abroad.

For a handful of countries, it's become a lucrative industry:

"The worst cases are the all-inclusive packages, it's like

“we're going on a nice holiday and we'll get pregnant in the process”,

or maybe not.

It's mixed with commercial interest."

Trade fairs have even sprung up in Germany,

like this one in Cologne last year before the pandemic lockdown.

Due to a legal loophole,

clinics from abroad can advertise fertility services here

that are actually illegal in Germany.

We're not allowed to film during the opening hours, in order to

protect the privacy of members of the public attending the fair.

There are also clinics here advertising surrogacy.

The number one choice, for those that can afford it,

are the American clinics,

where prices for surrogacy start at 130,000 euros.

Those with a smaller budget can opt for a Ukrainian clinic,

where the “baby package” costs 64,000 euros.

Some even guarantee a baby.

One clinic made headlines last year

when around a hundred newborns were stranded in Kiev,

because lockdown measures prevented parents from collecting them.

The images,

that were published by the clinic to increase pressure on the government,

were beamed around the world.

Shortly afterwards,

parents from abroad were able to collect the infants.

The case triggered an international debate on the ethics of surrogacy.

The practice is legal in some European countries too,

including the UK, Austria and Denmark,

but only if it's altruistic and not driven by money.

Greece goes a step further and allows clinics to offer surrogacy

to international clients.

So Lena and her husband decided to seek help in Greece.

We've changed her name.

She wishes to remain anonymous because of the social stigma involved.

She says even her friends have criticized her.

"Obviously you can always question the morality of it.

Some say it's abusing another woman's body.

But for me, the thought that I might never have a child

was the worst thing I could have imagined.

I think we shouldn't judge people."

Many struggle with the decision to use a surrogate

because of ethical questions and the cost involved.

"The US or Canada would have been our first choice,

they felt like the safest options.

But we just couldn't afford it.

Then there was Ukraine, which would have been the cheapest,

but we didn't have a good feeling about it.

So, Greece was the middle path.

It was affordable and we felt that it was legally well-regulated

and the surrogates well cared for."

Lena and her husband were actually halfway through the procedure

when Lena suddenly got pregnant naturally.

Back to the trade fair.

I've arranged to meet with a doctor from a clinic in Greece.

He's helped a number of German couples have a baby through surrogacy.

So, what motivates the surrogate mother to go through a pregnancy

for a couple she's never met?

"You shouldn't underestimate people's desire to help others.

As a doctor working in this area,

I always try to understand why a woman would decide to do this.

And over the years,

I've noticed that the desire to help other couples

is a very powerful motivation."

"OK. But another incentive for the surrogates

is the financial compensation that they get, isn't it?"

"To be honest, I would disagree.

My experience has shown that

money doesn't play a major role in these cases."

"OK, but you talked about compensation, 10,000 Euros."

"That's legally fixed."

"That's real money in Greece."

"I don't think that all women would undergo this procedure,

it's not about the money."

"OK, but isn't it the case that a business model has developed,

because there's money involved?"

"You know, as a doctor who's been involved

in reproductive medicine for more than 20 years,

I can assure you that it is not a form of business.

It's a form of medical care and help that makes people happy."

But is it really just about making others happy?

I decide to head to Greece, to find out for myself.

Every year, some two hundred babies are born in Greece to surrogates.

The law permits the practice as long as it's altruistic.

Back during the national economic crisis, that started in 2009,

Greece began promoting medical tourism to generate income.

In 2013, Athens opened surrogacy to international patients.

Since then, childless couples have come from all over the world.

But there appears to be no independent checks

into the welfare of the surrogates.

My contacts on the ground can't even put me in touch

with any experts in this area.

But I can speak to someone who wants to be a surrogate.

She asked not to be filmed.

A clinic has told her she can sign up for surrogacy

once her youngest child is a little older.

She's a single parent with three children,

but emphasizes repeatedly that her motivation is merely to help.

She dismisses all talk of possible health risks:

"God sees us.

And when you're doing something good,

maybe the next day those good things will return to you."

She has no job.

The family of four lives from child benefits — 280 euros a month in all.

Surrogates are allowed to receive 10,000 euros in compensation.

But she tells us the sums involved are much higher,

she's been told 30,000.

"That's a good start in life — thirty thousand euros!"

30,000 Euros would be a lot of money — a powerful incentive.

I join forces with another journalist and fly to the Greek island of Crete,

where we're going to pose as a couple in their mid-to-late 40s

who are desperate to have children.

Greece offers parents that use surrogacy an advantage —

a court process guarantees them the parental rights

before the pregnancy begins.

We inquire at a fertility clinic and get an appointment right away

But obviously we can't take a camera in.

A doctor and his assistant told us that couples from all over the world

manage to have babies here, evidently for a lot of money.

The cost for us would be between 78 and 85,000 Euros,

of which 20 to 25,000 would go to the surrogate.

And he says we shouldn't try to develop any emotional bond

with the surrogate as she was mainly doing it for the money.

"It was incredible he said right away she was doing it for the money."

"She gets up to a thousand euros a month."

"...which she's allowed to get."

"But then another 10 to 15,000 euros when the baby is delivered."

"Yes, both the doctor and the assistant said the surrogate

gets another 10 to 15 thousand euros at birth.

It doesn't sound that altruistic."

I report our experiences to someone from the body

responsible for drawing up Greek law in this area:

Katerina Fountedaki

is vice president of the National Authority of Assisted Reproduction.

I tell her that we've heard from multiple sources

that surrogates are motivated by the money

and may receive 20 or even 30 thousand euros.

This is totally illegal.

Because the total amount of money she could receive is 10,000.

Twenty-thousand is illegal,

20,000 is a payment!

The payment of course would be against morality,

it would be against human dignity.

This could not be allowed,

it's contrary to the unavailability of the human body.

I tell her that as prospective parents

we were supposed to pay up to 85 thousand euros.

85?!?!

85!

8-5! Yes, eight, five, zero, zero, zero.

This is not possible!! I mean I learned things from You.

This is not possible,

this is an extraordinary amount I've never heard!!

So, I am shocked, really.

I'm very sorry that they treat foreigners like that.

Because we didnt mean that when we said

that we could open the Greek clinics for reproductive tourism.

We didnt mean that they should exploit people.

Katerina Fountedaki promises to have the case followed up.

Some clinics have clearly turned surrogacy into a business.

But what about the practice of egg donation?

That's much cheaper than surrogacy.

Every year, several thousand couples from Germany

go abroad to use donor eggs.

The number one destination in Europe for this service is Spain.