A six-month old Thai boy known simply as "Gammy" was abandoned by Australian surrogate parents when they discovered he had Down syndrome and a congenital heart condition.
Ms Pattharamon - who became a commercial surrogate to settle personal debts - has been left with the critically ill child in Bangkok. She reached out to several Thai charities for financial support.
The news of Ms Pattharamon and Gammy's situation spread throughout Australia on Friday, leading to tens of thousands of dollars being pledged to the Thai woman and child through an online fundraising site called "Hope for Gammy".
The largest pledge has come from a Bangkok-based fertility doctor Dr Pisit Tantiwattanakul, who is involved in surrogacy deals charging up to $42,000 for western couples.
Using surrogates to have children is banned in Australia, with many couples going to locations like Thailand and India to have surrogate children.
There are attempts from authorities to crackdown on the largely unregulated commercial surrogacy industry in Thailand.
Many of the other pledges come from those who have surrogate or twin children.
The fundraisers have told BuzzFeed, "We are overwhelmed and very grateful."
The outpouring of support for the sick child was split between disbelief...
Those people just left Gammy behind like he was nothing, like he wasn't a helpless baby, all because he has Down's Syndrome. Fuck
...and those happy that Australians had started sending money to the desperate mother and sick boy.
I love my country for being so generous. get better soon gammy!
I just donated to little Gammy.I hope you all do too.Would be great for Australians to help this little fella.Go here>http://t.co/p6BPvQHQU1
While it brought up ethical issues surrounding commercial surrogacy.
The worst case scenario situations show the deep fault lines of a framework that views surrogacy as simply about "choice"
Ms Pattharamon warns other Thai women against entering into surrogacy arrangements: "If something goes wrong no one will help us and the baby will be abandoned from society."
