Intended parents

Mark Feenstra

Doing their journey in Canada

About them

We are Mark and Lucas, a Dutch couple living in the Netherlands. We are engaged, and our wedding is planned for August 2026! Our life is a blend of exploring the outdoors and cozy, heartwarming moments under a blanket on the couch. We have one big wish: a child to share all our love with (and some of our bad dance moves), surrounded by family and friends.

Are you the social and caring surrogate who’d like to go on this special adventure with us?

Link to our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW_SkoOwIng

Relationship status

Civil partnership

We met at the student association during college! We have been together for almost 9 years (November 2025), and for the last 3 years, we have lived together. About 2 years ago, we bought our first house in The Hague. We are engaged, and our wedding is planned for August 2026!

We share the love for nature (Mark's favourite is the forest, and Lucas's is the beach!) and outdoor activities. In our free time, we love to go out and hike together, both close to home and on our travels. We also cherish moments spent with friends and family. We love inviting people over for dinner and playing board games all night.

Also, we are interested in art and visit museums regularly. And on a lazy Sunday evening, we love to spend the night on the couch watching our favourite shows/movies like Avatar (the last airbender) and James Bond.

In the 9 years we’ve been together, we've shared many happy (and some sad) moments and experienced different phases of life together.

Our favourite memories together are:

Our first vacation together to Rome (what an incredibly beautiful and romantic city!)
Buying and renovating our house together (a bit stressful, but with beautiful results)
Vacation with friends (Lucas thinks of skiing in the Austrian mountains/Mark thinks of the French countryside)
Babysitting our nieces and nephews (so valuable, but hard work at the playground)

Their journey

Home area

Van Galenstraat, The Hague, Netherlands

Approximate area

Journey country

Canada

Financial preparedness

We've been planning our surrogacy journey for a long time and have already saved up for it. Dutch people don't spend money easily, so saving money for something important isn't difficult! ;)

We also think it's important to get to know Canada and, of course, our surrogate. So we will make sure that we can spend enough time there during the pregnancy.

Embryos

Yes.

We have 17 embryos of which 10 are PTG tested.

Clinic

Victory Reproductive Care

Lawyer

Sara Cohen

What they're looking for

Their hopes and requirements for a surrogate

Requirements

The criteria from our clinic are:

Age 20-45

BMI under the 35

No smoking and/or vaping

No alcohol, no drugs and marijuana (THC/CBD)

No more than 2 antidepressant agents if possible

No significant obstetrical history / no more than 3 previous cesarean sections

and less than 6 pregnancies in total

The relationship we hope to build

Ideally, we find someone who enjoys the same things in life, like hiking or cycling in nature and spending time with friends and family.

We would love to get to know our surrogate. Ideally, there would be time for this before the transfer. We look forward to hearing about her life and activities and to telling her about ours. Not only do we want to hear about pregnancy-related stuff, but also to get to know her on a more personal level and to find out whether she has read all the Harry Potter books.

It would be a pleasure to meet in person. Together with our surrogate, we would decide about the frequency of our contact, for example, if we would like to text weekly and/or (video)call every couple of weeks.

We find it important to remain in contact with our surrogate. Also, we are open to visiting her with our child at some point, or she is more than welcome to visit us if she wants to see what our life looks like (and explore our little rainy country!).

Vaccination information

We find it important to have childhood vaccinations.

Views on termination

This is a very difficult question and would depend on the specific medical case. We would want to terminate the pregnancy in the case of trisomy (e.g., Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome) and, of course, if the surrogate's health is at risk.

The intended parents

Mark Feenstra(He/Him)

34 years old

Communicates in

English, and Dutch

Occupation

Policy advisor at the Dutch National Police

Religion

Non-religious

Sexual orientation

Gay

Fun facts about me

- When I have a free day from work, I really enjoy exploring our cozy neighbourhood (The Zeeheldenkwartier). There are so many little shops and many nice places to drink coffee or have lunch. And of course I’m also spotting for public playgrounds😉

- I like fantasy stories: The Lord of the Rings is my favourite. When I was a kid, my father read me all the books. At the moment, I’m re-reading the GoT sessions.

- When it's cold and rainy outside, I like to game (Switch – Mario Kart or PlayStation 5 – Star Wars) with my friends. I can’t wait to teach my kid to game as well😊

Interests and hobbies

Coaching soccer practice and participating in activities at my soccer club feel like second nature to me. I really feel at home teaching children something they love. Playing board games or going out for breakfast are my favourite activities with friends! Next to that, I also love mountainbiking or watching birds in the dunes.

What friends say

“
Friends would describe me as trustworthy. Keeping in touch with each other is important to me. Knowing how my friends are doing and being there for them is important. They would also say I’m well-structured. I usually don’t come late! I like to organize as well: i like to organize fun stuff with friends, like dinner parties, doing pub quizzes or hikes in nature.
Friends about me:
Annemarij - I have known Mark since we were 3 years old. We often fantasize about how our children could be growing up together just as we have grown up together. Amazing thought!
Thomas & Pepijn - We have known Lucas and Mark for a long time and always see the passion they have for being together with friends and family.
”

(He/Him)

30 years old

Communicates in

English, and Dutch

Occupation

Physician (family doctor in training)

Religion

Non-religious

Sexual orientation

Gay

Fun facts about me

I used to work as a resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology, so I guided many pregnant women throughout their pregnancies and deliveries. Being on the other side (becoming a parent myself) feels very special!
In high school, I was the lead singer in a band called 'the Fancy Furry Fellows' (please don't search for this on Facebook 😉). We performed in fake fur coats, which were very warm, but so much fun.

Interests and hobbies

I get a lot of energy from being around people. We live in a very vibrant neighbourhood with lots of cafes, so I meet up with friends for coffee or a drink. Being outside is something I definitely like as well. I’m learning how to surf, and in the winter I love skiing. Recently, I started baking bread, and I'm diving into the world of sourdough!

What friends say

“
My friends describe me as an energetic and spontaneous person. I can be chaotic, so sometimes they have to wait for me because I can be a little bit late. But when I'm with people, I give them my full attention, and they say I'm a good listener.
Although I'm not the best at planning ahead, my friends know me for spontaneous coffee invites or random activities.
”

Their story

Questions & answers

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