Surrogacy deal between sisters leads to arrest and the baby in care

The two women look very alike, so they planned for the infant's aunt to post as the mother when signing the paperwork at the hospital.

The child's biological father – the sister's husband – has also been detained.

Investigations show that it was a surrogacy case – the baby's aunt and uncle were unable to have children but were desperate for a baby.

They struck an agreement whereby the biological father would conceive a child by his sister-in-law and pay her €5,000 for the 'job' of carrying the baby and giving birth.

Police got wind of the deal when they realised the child's mother, a Romanian national aged 32, had been to several post-partum medical appointments.

Slight differences in facial features between the sisters enabled officers to get to the bottom of the situation, and their suspicions were confirmed when they took fingerprints.

The baby was held at Valladolid hospital's neo-natal unit until his true parents' identity could be ascertained.

He has been made a ward of the Castilla y León regional government's social services authorities.

Surrogacy continues to be illegal in Spain, and parents who have used agencies abroad have run into major legal problems, including custody and registration.

For many couples or would-be single parents, including gay men and infertile women, surrogacy is the only option.

Photograph: Valladolid (Wikimedia Commons)