Back at square one, we had to decide what step we wanted to take next. We figured we had five options to choose from, but we wanted to speak to our RE before making our final decision. Here is what we were considering:

1. IUI with donor sperm – This option would have been the least expensive and easiest on my body. We thought it would have a high chance of being successful since our infertility issues are all male factor. However, we weren’t very comfortable with having a baby with my genetics and not my husband’s.

2. IVF with PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) – We thought this was the only option that gave us a chance of having a baby that was genetically ours.

3. Embryo Adoption – We liked the idea of adopting a baby and being able to experience pregnancy and birth. We didn’t know much about it and needed more information about how it could work.

4. Domestic Infant Adoption – This is something we had considered before going through IVF.

5. Living a child free life – The last option was to stop trying and live without children. We considered this for about 5 seconds before scrapping the idea. We both knew we still wanted children despite our struggles.

After eliminating all but IVF with PGD and embryo adoption on our own, we made our followup appointment with our RE. We asked her about both choices. Our RE had nothing but positive things to say about embryo adoption and pointed us to a couple of websites where we could research it more. We learned quite a bit about how embryo adoption came to be.

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In 1978, the first baby was conceived via IVF. Soon IVF became a common practice and clinics developed ways to freeze leftover embryos for later use. After a couple conceived through IVF, they sometimes have extra frozen embryos left over and have to face the difficult decision of what to do with them. In 1983, human donor eggs were used for the first time to achieve a pregnancy.

In 1997, Nightlight Christian Adoption saw an opportunity for couples who could not conceive on their own to use donated embryos from other couples who had conceived via IVF. They created the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program. The first child conceived through embryo adoption was born shortly after. Prior to 1997 donor eggs and sperm had been combined to make donor embryos, but there is not a lot of literature about when this was first successfully done. Nighlight was the first to match a family with donor embryos and treat the process like any other adoption. Their program is also the reason the term “snowflake babies” is popular when talking about embryo donation.

Today over half a million embryos are frozen and stored. Some have been abandoned and will stay frozen indefinitely, some will be used by their parents, some donated to science, and some donated to other couples. It’s estimated that over 3,500 children have been born as a result of embryo adoption through the different clinics and agencies around the world.

After browsing the sites and discussing our experience so far, we knew embryo adoption was the route we wanted to take. We were hesitant to go through IVF again, even with PGD. I could have to go through several fresh cycles to retrieve enough eggs to get one embryo that was viable, and stimulating my ovaries was hard on my body. It took weeks for me to feel normal afterward and it wasn’t something I was excited to do again.

Being able to adopt a child and also experience pregnancy felt like the perfect solution for a couple with infertility issues like ours. Also, I found that frozen embryo transfer cycles were much easier on my body, and that is what an embryo adoption cycle would be.

I’m hopeful that we will have an embryo transfer this winter. When I look at the history of assisted reproduction technology and how far it has come, I am thankful to live in 2014. I am amazed that despite infertility I will still have a chance to experience pregnancy and birth.

Sources: nightlight.org, embryoadoption.org, embryodonation.org

Why We Chose Embryo Adoption part 2 of 3

1. Why We Chose Embryo Adoption - Part 1 by Mrs. Pickle
2. Why We Chose Embryo Adoption - Part 2 by Mrs. Pickle
3. The Different Ways You Can Adopt Embryos by Mrs. Pickle