First Baby Born Through Surrogacy Celebrates Milestone 40th Birthday
Jill Brand - the first baby in the world to be born through gestational surrogacy - celebrated her milestone 40th birthday.
"When I was born, it's the first time in human history that a woman gave birth to a baby she had no genetic relationship to," Brand said during her first ever broadcast interview on Today.
Her mother, Sandy, had her fallopian tubes removed and was told she could not carry a child. Sandy and her husband would go on to adopt two daughters.
In 1978, however, when the first IVF baby was born in England, the couple decided to meet with the doctors to discuss their options.
Sandy got pregnant through IVF and gave birth to a baby girl via emergency C-section after her uterus ruptured. Tragically, the baby girl died at just two weeks old.
According to Today, Jill's father, Elliot - who tragically passed away last year - actually came up with the idea for gestational surrogacy, which Sandy originally called "crazy."
Jill Brand was born on April 13, 1986.
"For the first year of my life, there was a little bit of publicity. But then my mom really wanted a private life," she explained. "
Now, a mother of three herself, Jill works as the head of brand and creative at Pvolve and is based in New York City.
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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 10:55 AM.