Fueled by high demand and high rewards, black-market surrogacy is booming in China, The Times (London) reports. Its source is The Paper, a state-run news website, which carried out a two-month-long investigation.

Agents charge commissioning couples anywhere between US$55,000 and $155,000 for a baby, gender guaranteed. It is also risky, especially if there are problems with the pregnancy or if the baby is disabled.

Everything about the transactions is illegal, from the surrogacy to gender selection. But couples are desperate. IVF is often unavailable. And after the relaxation of the one-child policy, many women want to have a second child, but they are too old. Other have lost an only child and they want to replace him.