The murky world of reproductive medicine

The birth of a new baby signifies hope, promise and family.

But for an estimated one in 10 Canadians it's a dream that is out of reach without the help of modern science and technology.

Egg donation, sperm donation and surrogacy are all options available to infertile couples. But sometimes the desire to have a baby is so strong that it has led Canadians to venture into an increasingly murky world of assisted human reproduction.

The Internet has opened up infertility treatments to a global marketplace. A world where searching for the perfect designer baby is available to those who can pay. That's the world where one woman, who agreed to talk to W5 on condition that we concealed her identity, went looking for her baby.

"Secaley" -- her online name -- went looking for her desired "blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl." Already the mother of six children; four boys and two girls, she desperately wanted another girl and was drawn in by all the Internet ads offering her most heart-felt wish. She went to a clinic in Syracuse, New York and...