What is embryo donation and adoption?

Embryo Donation is pretty new!

In the process of in-vitro fertilization, one family creates several embryos (egg fertilized with sperm), which are cryo-preserved for multiple attempts and/or siblings.  When families complete, they often have remaining embryos in storage.  These are potential siblings of their children that they worked very hard to create, so they’re pretty special!!

It’s estimated that, of the over 1.3 million embryos stored frozen in the United States, over 800,000 embryos are “inactive,” not scheduled to be implanted.  Families keep their embryos frozen because they don’t know their options, they aren’t comfortable with the options presented, or they’re too busy with their families to take the necessary steps to act on the option that feels best.  For example, some would donate their embryos, but their reproductive clinic has strict intra-clinic guidelines and therefore won’t accept their donation. Others don’t want to be anonymous, as most reproductive clinics require.

In fact, MOST embryos qualify for donation! And there are so many families that want them, it’s a shame for those em-babies to remain frozen for eternity.

Explore our website, and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions about embryo donation or other considerations available to you – we will provide a comprehensive, objective perspective.