Same sex couple have triplets after meeting their surrogate at the Pistorius trial

A South African same-sex couple are believed to be the first in the country and possibly the world to have triplets through a surrogate. The couple met the surrogate when neighbours of the disgraced runner Oscar Pistorius decided to meet up after the trial.

They were introduced to the woman who would be their surrogate by one of the state's key witnesses in the murder trial, reports Sky News. The triplets were born prematurely on 2 July.

The first to be born was Joshua, followed by Zoe and then Kate. Both men are biological parents of the children after an egg fertilised with each man's DNA was implanted in the woman.

The three were told by doctors that two of the babies should be terminated to give the third the best chance of survival. But they decided to find a gynaecologist who agreed to bring all three pregnancies to term.

One of the men is the biological father to one of the children, while the egg fertilised with the other man's sperm was split, meaning the daughters will be identical twins.

The triplets were monitored at Johannesburg's Sunninghill Hospital until they were though strong enough to leave. Joshua was the first to leave, at three weeks old, followed by Zoe and then Kate.

The lucky couple were surprised that they ever got the chance to be parents, one of the fathers, Christo Menelaou, told Sky News: "When you are gay, there is always the thought that it just may not be possible to be a parent no matter how much you would love to be.

"It's very hard to be accepted for adoption and we were told we would always come after heterosexual couples. And then we just never thought we'd ever find a person who would want to be surrogate to a gay couple."

The couple, the surrogate and her husband all had to sign affidavits and appear before a judge saying that they were all willing participants and no one would be exchanging money aside from pregnancy expenses. But now, the couple are happily celebrating their new young family back home in Pretoria.