Snow in July

Part 2

By Dr. Becky Sanez, Edited by Amy Strayer


The following is Part 2 of Drs. Becky and Joe Saenz’s Embryo Adoption story. Their story is revealed in a four part series on the EAAC blog. Part 1 is posted on an earlier EAAC blog.

Ultimately, we were matched with the donated embryos from two different couples – two from one couple and four from another. Statistically, half of frozen embryos die during the thawing process for reasons not fully understood. Only one in three embryos transferred to a prospective mother’s uterus will actually implant. So statistically, any given set of five or six embryos will yield one viable pregnancy.

We were sent detailed medical and family histories of each of the genetic parents, in case there might be anything about which we were uncomfortable. After giving our OK, arrangements were made to ship the embryos to our local infertility clinic, which was named “temporary guardians” of our six embryonic children. I made an appointment for the initial visit to begin the hormonal process of preparing for a controlled cycle transfer.

First cycle: of the first two embryos thawed, one died in the thaw process, and the one that survived was transferred. It failed to implant. Although I never actually had a positive pregnancy test, that experience felt very much like a miscarriage. Joe and I were starting to wonder what we’d set ourselves up for.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Saenz’s journey through embryo adoption next week.