Shannon Garner is in an elite but very special group - she is an altruistic surrogate, a woman who carried and gave birth to a baby for another couple without financial reward. Most people simply can't get their head around the idea that somebody would do such a thing, but after reading Labour Of Love I have come to better understand the whole process and gained a huge amount of respect for Shannon and her family.

Shannon and her husband already had two healthy children when they made the momentous decision for Shannon to be the surrogate for same sex couple Jon and Justin. They are an ordinary family in many respects, but Shannon had an out of the ordinary desire to help somebody else to create the family of their dreams. Following some further research, she is connected with Jon and Justin, who are desperate for a child of their own. From there it was a somewhat complex journey, to ensure all parties were aware of what they were undertaking, but never once did Shannon waver in her desire to be a surrogate.