You may be considering embryo adoption as a way to build your family. Yet find yourself wondering why people would donate their embryos? Moreover, why donate them to someone they have never met?
Here some of the most popular reasons why people choose to donate their remaining embryos:
Their family is complete: After several years of family building, they have the family they have always longed for, and consequently feel fulfilled. Their focus now turns to providing for their family’s needs and enjoying the life they have been given. So why not place their remaining embryos into a loving family who yearn to experience the joy of family, as they have?
If not now, when? Paying for long term storage does not seem like a good use of their finances. Moreover, they ask themselves, what is the point in waiting? Science continues to grow in leaps and bounds, so rather than storing them indefinitely and risking their potential of having a full and happy life, they often opt to donate them.
They see this as a win, win: Having struggled themselves, they know firsthand what it is like to want to have a child. The heartache can be overwhelming and leave one feeling incomplete. Filled with love for their embryos, and compassion for adopting parents, they opt to find a family to adopt their remaining embryos.
Pay it forward: Sometimes, these families needed an egg and/or sperm donor to create their embryos through IVF. In situations like this, it is not unusual for parents to want to “pay it forward” and help another couple who, like them, have experienced the pain of infertility.
They do not want their efforts wasted: Occasionally couples create embryos thinking they need help, only to discover they were able to get pregnant naturally. This often happens after the birth of their first child conceived via IVF. Knowing the costs involved in creating embryos, and that not all couples have the same resources at hand they opt to donate.
A happy ending: When a person has lost their partner, as a result of divorce or their passing, keeping one’s embryos is a painful reminder of what could have been. However, there can be a silver lining when they donate their embryos to a family who may never have had the opportunity to be parents.
The number one reason why families choose to donate is that they value the life they have created. Granted it may have been in a petri dish, but they have still participated in the process, either by using their own DNA or that of a donor. Whatever the genetics, they believe these embryos have the potential to develop into a happy, healthy baby.
If you are thinking about adopting embryos, you are not alone. Every year families all over the U.S. consider embryo adoption. To learn more about embryo donation and adoption, visit EmbryoAdoption.org.
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