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Adoption
donmitch79
member
Embryo Adoption
donmitch79
member
in Adoption
I have noticed embryo adoption listed on many people's siggi's. What exactly is embryo adoption? Before we decided on domestic adoption, we explored IVF but would need to have genetic testing done on our embryos and/or use an egg donor with a gestational carrier in order to have a biological child to us or just my husband. Insurance won't cover more than 1 IVF treatment so we recently donated our frozen embryos to a cancer research hospital and closed that door.
We were told by our IVF Dr. that the cost of acquiring eggs, implanting them into a gestational carrier, monitoring the process, and legal fees would be between $100,00-$125,000, although we already have a gestational carrier that would not cost us. Is embryo adoption in the same ballpark financially?
I'm really interested to learn more...:)
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Embryo Adoption
Others told me that for them embryo adoption was a very expensive process and required a HS/attorneys, etc...but for me, somehow, my RE's office is able to do their own embryo adoption program. I am not required to get a HS or deal with any legal issues. I just get on a list and when an embryo comes up (from a couple who did IVF, got pregnant, and had leftover embryos), they call me up and I do the ET.
Update - For me it's only the cost of the transfer and whatever meds (progresterone, etc) so it'll be a couple thousand (I have no insurance coverage for this).
Don't have time to post a lot of info right now.
Here are 2 good links to investigate:
https://www.resolve.org/family-building-options/donor-options/using-donor-embryo.html
https://www.embryodonation.org/index.php
In a nutshell, there are several way to receive / adopt embryos. Some routes are more expensive than other routes.
Also, like in domestic infant adoption, the range of "openness" between the donor couple and recipient couple is runs from completely anonymous to completely open with most somewhere in between.
ETA to add you - you can also use a gestational carrier if needed with donor embryos, but that adds significantly to the cost.
Embryo Adoption is generally facilitated through adoption agencies who have Embryo Adoption programs, who generally work with a fertility clinic for the FET. The total cost will run somewhere between $10K - $15K - this includes the Home Study and the cost of the FET. Snowflakes Embryo Adoption is the pioneer of Embryo Adoption programs, and they have embryos available now waiting to be adopted.
While agencies do require Home Studies - this is part of the reason they have embryos available while many clinic donation programs do not. Embryo Donors are more likely to donate to an agency when they know the recipients have been vetted - including a criminal background check and a child abuse check. If you adopt from Snowflakes you adopt all the embryos a family has. If you adopt 10 embryos you could conceivably build your family, and have 2-3 children out of the single adoption, without ever having to wait for years to get to the top of a clinic donor list - where you receive embryos for one transfer only.
https://www.nightlight.org/snowflake-embryo-adoption/
To PP Anne - Hi and Welcome to the Board!
In reading your response, I wanted to share that RE clinics have differing policies governing their embryo donation program. At some clinics, you do receive all the embryos available from the donating family. At some clinics, you only receive 2-3 embryos or enough for 1 transfer and the rest go back into the clinic pool. It just depends upon the clinic's own rules and how many embryos they have available for their patients and how many are waiting. Some clinics only allow prior patients access to donor embryos. Some clinics accept patients from other clinics. There are no standard operating guidelines in this area so a person interested in donor embryos has to do the legwork to research each clinic and find one that works for him/her.
I also wanted to mention that donor embryo siblings do not have to be genetically related to each other (ie from the same batch of frozen embryos). While that may be desireable to some parents and can be bonus of using the donor embryo process; for other parents, its not important. Just like in other traditional types of adoption, if you adopt more than one child, the siblings may not be biologically related unless you adopted a sibling group or your birth mother had another baby with the same father.
Some clinics and programs even mix embryos from different donor couples at the time of the transfer. If a baby(ies) result, then genetic testing is done after the baby (babies) is/are born to determine which embryo(s) implanted. So in situations like that, you could get pg with twins (or more) but each child has a different genetic makeup.
The waiting times vary at every clinic too. At some clinics, it may take years to receive donor embryos. Other clinics have only a several month wait. Some clinics use a hybrid of wait time in clinic's pool + bidding on the embryos you want. Some clinics use other criteria. Its up to each clinic. I have seen also that just like in DIA, if you are open to donor embryos of other races besides caucasian, you might be able to receive embryos quicker too.
I presented in my first response that there are various ways to obtain donor embryos and there might be more options that I didn't even list that I am not aware of. I wanted to add that no one option is better than another option. The "right" route is different for each person. At the end of the day, you want to take home a baby. There are several choices available to explore and you can determine what is the best way to build your family.
Thank You for the welcome!
I did not mean to throw all clinics into one pool, and I do know that each clinic that has a donation program has their own protocols. Embryo Adoption Agencies have differing policies as well - and some do indeed split the embryos from one family to multiple recipients.
My husband and I are 6 months pregnant from an Embryo Adoption. We adopted through NEDC in Knoxville, TN so happy with our results. My insurance covered the embryo transfer and tests only thing we paid for was the Home Study which was $1500.
We had a daughter born at 34 weeks in 2007 due to SGA and breathing issues. After she was about 2 wks old found she had Emanuel Syndrome (Partial Trisomy 22) and passed away at 5 months old. IVF was an option but too expensive and then I developed Low Ovarian Reserve.
It's a great way to build your family!!