14 Mar Embryo Donation
For many individuals and couples, the IVF journey is so fraught with twists and turns that little attention is paid to future unused embryos. That decision-making step seems almost unattainable when you’re coping with repeat IVF cycles and the busyness of raising babies, toddlers and young children.
For most people who use IVF, though, a time will come when a big decision must be made – what should we do with our unused embryos?
We also work with couples who intentionally decide to move forward with IVF fertility treatments because they know their unused, donated embryos will have a chance at life even after the couple’s family is complete. This knowledge provides invaluable peace of mind.
Have You Considered Donating Your Embryos to Another Couple?
For many, the idea of perpetually storing embryos, or thawing and discarding them is painful because so much time, energy and love went into making them.
As a result, multiple adoption agencies, like Nightlight’s Snowflake Embryo Adoption program, make it possible for embryos to be donated to couples in need. These embryos are used by a range of grateful couples, including those who:
- Couldn’t conceive children using their own sperm and eggs.
- Who have unexplained infertility issues.
- Are 40-years or older, making it less likely to conceive a baby with their own eggs.
- Have experienced multiple failed adoptions when birth mothers of their adopted babies changed their mind at the 11th
- Are coping with an infertility diagnosis but can’t afford the traditional infertility treatment route.
Choosing to donate embryos creates the ultimate win-win-win for all involved – donor parents, recipient parents and the babies born from embryos.
How do you donate your embryos?
This is such an incredible decision you’re making – and it may take some time to come to a 100% decision either way. That’s fine because a 100%-sure decision is what you should feel when donating your embryos.
By choosing to do so, you’re giving each of your frozen embryos a chance at life, and you’re giving a mother and father – just like yourself – the opportunity to have a connected and intimate experience with pregnancy, labor and the birth of their child.
Ultimately, this is an adoption in the making – which is why the recipient family will be taking part in what we call an embryo adoption.
If you are interested in donating embryos:
Let your fertility specialist know as soon as possible. We have relationships with embryo adoption agencies in Texas and around the nation. We can discuss those options with you.
Seek psychological and legal counsel. A decision of this magnitude deserves time and process in order to come to fruition as emotionally clear as possible. Seeking counselling from a licensed professional is a good idea so s/he can run through various questions and concepts about the present as well as the future – giving you a larger and more grounded perspective from which to make your decision.
Because adoption is a financially and legally transparent process, legal paperwork is a must. Once signed, your embryo donation contract terminates any legal claim you have on children who are born from your embryos.
Choose an open or closed embryo donation. Just like adoptions, parents donating their embryos – and the parents receiving them – can opt to have open or closed contracts. Donors and recipients choose the level or amount of communication that will take place after the embryo(s) is donated – and this decision is written into the legal contract.
For example: Some couples opt to have a completely closed adoption. In those cases, each family moves on and there is no communication, sharing of medical history, etc. OR, donor couples have the option to make decisions about:
- Receiving information about the outcome of donated embryos, including whether they survived the thaw
- How many embryos were transferred
- How many embryos resulted in pregnancy
- How many resulted in live birth
- How the baby/ies are doing, being sent pictures and updates, communicating with the children later on, etc.
These preferences are used in order to match donor couples with like-minded recipients to ensure you’re all on the same page and to create a smoother and more rewarding process.
Are you interested in working with an IVF specialist who facilitates embryo donations? Contact us here at the Fertility Center of Dallas.