Embryo Adoption in the News

I have an embryo adoption friend who recently was interviewed by People magazine about her personal adoption story.  This past week, her story aired as a three part online special.  Part one was Liz's story, part two was the genetic mother's story, and part three was an interview with Liz's reproductive endocrinologist.

All in all, they were amazing interviews that, hopefully, brought some positive attention to embryo adoption in the United States. 

One point could bear elaboration:  there are three different routes one can chose from when seeking embryo adoption:  agency adoption, a private match, or a clinic's donation program.  Liz and her husband exemplify scenario two, the private match, while my family has grown through an agency adoption.  I have no interest in saying one is better than another because that point varies by personal situation.  I merely want to lay out some of the similarities and differences between the three paths.

AGENCY ADOPTION

To date, there are three main facilities that offer agency-type embryo adoption services:  Nightlight's Snowflake Program, the Embryo Adoption Services of Cedar Park, and the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC).  I've examined these programs at length before, so, for the sake of brevity, I'm just going to look at some common points. 

All three require a home study from adoptive families.

The first two facilities write up contracts that carefully outline the relinquishment of the genetic parents' rights.  (As NEDC retains rights to the embryos, not the genetic parents, its contracts are different in nature than the former two establishments.)

All three provide matching services.

All three offer open, semi-open, or closed adoptions. 

All three offer the adoptive family the complete batch of embryos.

All three offer biographical information on the genetic family.  Snowflakes and Cedar Park offer extensive information on the placing family.  NEDC offers varying amounts of information given the different levels of openness (an closed match often means a more limited amount of information available on the donors).

Snowflakes and Cedar Park offer counseling services to both the donating and adopting parties, if desired.

Both Snowflakes and Cedar Park oversee the physical transportation of the embryos from wherever they are housed to the adoptive family's transferring clinic.  (NEDC is a clinic and already houses the embryos.)

This route tends to be the most expensive due to the involved role the agency plays in the whole process.

Additional costs consist of the home study (though Cedar Park offers one in house for an additional cost), medication, and the embryo transfer (except for NEDC which performs the transfer on site).


PRIVATE MATCH

There are two ways to pursue a private match:  through "word of mouth" or through a matching forum.  With the advent of social media and chat groups, finding embryos through "word of mouth" is not an impossible scenario.  However, many adoptive families are turning to one of the two "matching forums" in existence.

Miracles Waiting is essentially a classified advertisement service for donating/adopting couples to find each other.  One pays a flat fee to join ($150) and then one can obtain full access to the listings.  Embryos may not be bought or sold, as that is illegal, but otherwise, there are no regulations or requirements of donors or recipients.

NRFA is a relatively new forum for finding a match.  The price for membership varies, based on the number of months purchased.  This is less like a classified advertisement service and more like a personal look at placing/waiting families' life books. 

Home studies are usually not required, though some placing parents may show preference to those adoptive families who have a current home study.

Usually a private match results in some sort of openness between the placing and adopting families. 

While a private match appears much less expensive than an agency match, there are a few other costs to include:  transporting the embryos to your transferring clinic, legal fees, and all the fees associated with the embryo transfer itself. 


CLINIC DONATION PROGRAM

Some clinics have their own in-house embryo donation programs.  The clinic may or may not have full rights to these embryos.  If the clinic has full rights, then the paperwork is just between the clinic and recipients.  However, if the genetic parents retain rights, then legal paperwork must include them.

Home studies are not required.  Some clinics require counseling services for all patients using "donated material" (embryos included); some do not.

Typically clinics offer only anonymous donation programs.  The adoptive parents have access to whatever details the genetic parents provided which could range from full life history with pictures, to just minimal characteristics.

While other clinics may offer it on a case by case basis, Embryo Donation International (EDI) is the only clinic I know of that has an option for a level of openness.

Many clinics offer enough embryos for a single transfer only.  The receiving couple typically does not receive the whole batch of embryos.  Some clinics, like FIRM, allow the recipients to reserve a whole embryo set.  Others do not. 

Some clinics charge just the standard embryo transfer fees.  Some clinics have additional fees for using embryos from their donation program.

Overall, a clinic donation program is usually the least expensive route, but with the greatest limitations.



From a Catholic perspective, there is no "morally superior" path out of the three.  A potential adoptive couple should carefully weigh their personal needs, finances, and goals for the future (both their own and any resulting hypthetical children) before chosing a route.  And pray, pray wholeheartedly for guidance and direction.  Obviously it goes without saying that, when pursuing any route, the utmost care must be taken to preserve the dignity of each embryo. 


EDIT:  While I find there to be no morally superior path out of the three options, I personally have a hard time with programs that split embryo sets into single transfer portions only (usually groups of two or three).  Try to keep the good of the embryos in mind, including their future well-being.  Will they want to know more about their genetic parents one day?  Quite possibly.  Will they want to know more about their genetic siblings one day?  Most likely.  How important is it for you to be able to assist them in searching for answers?

NEDC Program Facts (Part 2 of 3)

7 Posts in 7 Days Link-Up - Day 3

 

 

NEDC PROGRAM FACTS

NOTE:  NEDC stands for the National Embryo Donation Center.  My thanks to an internet friend for proofing this fact sheet for me. 

 

You are eligible for their program if you meet these criteria:

·         Heterosexual married couple

·         Married at least three years

·         Undergo and pass a home study

·         Preference given to those without biological children

·         Adoptive mother is 45 or younger

·         Combined age of the couple must not exceed 100 years

·         The adoptive mother must not smoke during the application process, embryo transfer preparation and procedure process, or during pregnancy.

 

Program entails:

·         Travel to Knoxville, TN two or more times for your first transfer

o   Initial consultation and mock transfer

o   Actual FET

o   All monitoring may be done at the patient’s local clinic

·         FET’s are performed one week a month, in odd numbered months

·         Average of six to eight month wait from scheduling initial consult to actual FET.  Longest wait is from first contact to initial consult.  Home study delays could delay whole process.  If doing open adoption, the process may take a little longer to work out open agreements.

·         You may be able to start and proceed with the application process if your home study is not yet completed.  However, an approved home study is required before they will match you, or allow you to have a transfer.

 

Fee Schedule:

·          http://www.embryodonation.org/pdf/NEDC_Fee_Schedule.pdf

·         In short, the NEDC estimated cost is $5022 for your first FET.  This price does not include your home study or medicine, nor does it include any open adoption fees (optional).

·         If your first transfer is not successful, you may return for up to two more tries per pregnancy.  Each additional transfer currently costs appx $3000.

·         If you return for transfer of a sibling, your program fee will be reduced.

·         There is also a donor fee that can vary greatly depending on the cost the donors would like reimbursed (such as shipping fees, lab testing, storage fees, etc.).  The cost is usually not known until the match is complete.

 

Matching Facts:

·         There is a large pool of embryos available and ready to be matched at NEDC.  All embryos have already been shipped to NEDC so you do not need to find your own match.

·         They have a moderate amount of multi-ethnic embryos (there is limited availability of these nationwide – NEDC seems to have more than average).  Ethnic/multi-ethnic embryos are usually reserved for families of the same ethnicity or family make-up (such as in families with multi-ethnic adoptions).

·         Anonymous donation – NEDC will send you basic info on all sets meeting your criteria.  You narrow the list down to a smaller number.  Then NEDC sends you more information on the embryo sets.  You make your choice.  Genetic family does not participate in matching process.

·         Open donation – NEDC will send you appx ten detailed profiles for perusal.  You choose your top match.  Genetic family is notified and must give approval.

 

Additional Facts:

·         The majority of the waiting embryo sets are from anonymous donors.  All prices listed are for their anonymous program.  Because NEDC is a clinic, they outsource for open adoption agreements and mediation between parties.  These are available for additional fees.  An Open Donation Agreement (ODA) is required for families pursuing open adoptions at NEDC.  NEDC works with The National Fertility Support Center to provide open adoption and ODA services.  Currently the fee for up to two ODA’s for the first transfer is $2700.  Additional ODA for a subsequent transfer is $1600 and $900 after that.  Currently, post-birth mediation is available for $299 a year.  See http://www.embryodonation.org/pdf/nfscFees.pdf for details.

·         No selective reduction is allowed.

·         No surrogates.

·         Potential adoptive families are allowed three FET attempts to achieve a full term pregnancy.  If no pregnancy is achieved after three FET’s, they need to seek elsewhere.

·         If there are already adopted children in the household who have a semi-open or open relationship with their first parents, then all matches through NEDC must also be semi-open or open.

·         At each transfer, you must have at least five or six embryos adopted/reserved.  If your primary set does not consist of enough embryos, you must choose a back-up set.  If two sets are chosen, they must be complimentary openness, either both anonymous or both open. 

·         As mentioned previously, you are allowed three FET attempts per pregnancy.  If you have not achieved a live birth after three transfers but you still have embryos adopted/reserved, they will be returned to the program.