Hospital workers in Wolverhampton's New Cross hospital in Britain were stunned, when a couple who traveled to India for IVF treatment, dumped their newborn twins at the hospital when they found out they were not boys.

The parents of Indian heritage, who live as British citizens in the city of Birmingham reportedly told doctors they did not want the "wrong sex" babies as soon as they were born by Caesarean section in the hospital, a fortnight ago.

The husband, aged 72, reportedly asked medics how long it would be before his wife, aged 59, was fit enough to fly back to India for more IVF treatment, because they wanted a boy to continue the family name.

The twins have now been transferred to a central NHS hospital in Birmingham and reportedly they have not been visited a single time.

A spokeswoman for New Cross Hospital said she could not make any comment because of "data protection reasons".

Though there is no absolute age limit for IVF in Britain, the couple may have traveled to India for the treatment because NHS will not fund it for women aged over 40.

The news that the parents dumped the new born girl babies may not come as a surprise to many because countries such as India are known to display a cultural preference for sons.

A report last year has shown that Indian women in Britain travel to the subcontinent to avail the services of IVF doctors who, for Rs.4000 (about £49), will reveal the sex of an unborn child and recommend someone who can abort the fetus.

An investigation led by BBC Asian Network last year revealed that “between 1990 and 2005 almost 1,500 fewer girls were born to Indian mothers in England and Wales than would have been expected for that group.”

Source-Medindia
THK/L