How to donate a frozen embryo
Hello parents community,
We are looking for any advice/suggestion/referrals regarding what to do with a frozen embryo.
We did IVF using donor egg as well as donor sperm and have a wonderful 5 year old daughter. We have an extra embryo we don't know what to do with but we are leaning toward either donating to research or to a known recipient. The embryo is biracial - White and Asian.
Thank you in advance.
Sep 16, 2023
Parent Replies
We are in process of donating embryos. Ours are also biracial and come from donor eggs. There are some helpful facebook groups you might join, including one for donors only, that might help you decide. You might also look into Embryo Connections, an agency that matches embryo donors with recipients, and the National Registry for Adoption, on which you could create a listing to find a recipient. FWIW, there are a lot of folks out there looking for donated embryos.
I just want to comment on how open hearted and generous I think this is. I appreciate you!
I’m not aware of organizations or specific referrals to point you towards, although I would guess that most fertility clinics would probably have some information/suggestions. I don’t know how personally close you’re hoping that a known recipient might be to you but I am aware of two different families in my circle who I think would be overjoyed to be the recipient of a healthy embryo. Please contact me directly if you’re interested in introductions.
Such a lovely thought! Having been through numerous IVFs myself, I remember signing the documents which says what you would do with the remaining embryos. Did you guys align on donating, or discarding if not used?
Hi, I don't have advice, though my best friend may be a great candidate as a recipient! She is an environmental scientist looking at IVF and her other options. I would love to connect you two if that's something you'd be interested in discussing! Please send me a message, I'd be happy to tell you more about her and put you in touch.
I'm not sure what the process is for donating to research but for embryo donation, I have heard great things about a newish organization called "EM•POWER with Moxi" https://www.empowerwithmoxi.com/ - "Moxi" is an embryo donation matching program/platform. I don't have person experience with this group myself, but have a professional connection to one of the founders.