A six-month-old baby with Down syndrome has been abandoned in Thailand by his Australian parents and left in the care of his 21-year-old surrogate mother.

Gammy and his healthy twin sister were born in Bangkok, but she has since been taken back to Australia by their parents, according to a report by The Age.

• Mother of abandoned baby comes forward

Surrogate mother Pattharamon Janbua says she cannot care for Gammy and pay for medical treatment for his congenital heart condition.

Thai authorities are moving to crack down on on IVF clinics, with many operators moving to Thailand to take advantage of the industry’s growth and exploit surrogate parents.

Ms Pattharamon said that she discovered three months into the pregnancy that one of the twins was Down syndrome, but the Australian parents did not want to take him and told her to have an abortion.

“They told me to have an abortion but I didn’t agree because I am afraid of sin,” said Ms Patthartamon, referring to her Buddhist beliefs.

She claims that the surrogate agency still owes her 70,000 baht ($2341).

Sam Everingham, director of Families Through Surrogacy said that this is not the first time that foreign parents have not accepted disabled children.

He said that Gammy’s case showed “the need for couples to be counselled before they go into any surrogacy, to ensure they know the risks they may be faced with that could lead to these situations”.