XW, Re (Parental Order: Death of an Applicant)

The first applicant was born in Nigeria. The deceased second applicant was born in London. The deceased second applicant holds British nationality.

In 1987, the applicants met. They married in Nigeria in 1999. For 10 years they lived separately in Nigeria and this jurisdiction respectively until 2009, when the first applicant moved here. On moving, the first applicant moved in with the second applicant in their current home, which is a one-bedroom council property in south London.

In May 2022, the applicants approached a clinic in Nigeria to assist them in a surrogacy agreement. In August 2022, the second applicant donated his gametes in Nigeria. A third-party egg donor was used for the embryo creation. The identity of the third party egg donor is unknown, in accordance with the practice of surrogacy arrangements in Nigeria.

In September 2022, two embryos were implanted into the respondent. At the 12-week scan, confirmation of a successful pregnancy was confirmed. The applicants entered into a surrogacy agreement with the clinic after the successful implantation.

weeks into the pregnancy, the respondent was admitted into hospital as she required a transfusion. Three days later the respondent was readmitted into hospital with gestational diabetes and symptoms of malaria. As a result, the applicants changed their flights to be present for the early birth of XW.