Our Blog
The Reality of Donor Embryos’ Medical Backgrounds
When considering embryo adoption or donation, one of the first things recipient families will be asked to consider is their openness regarding the medical and health history of the embryo donors. All of the sudden, something you may not have given much thought to in...
The Sorrow of a Failed Transfer
Everyone loves hearing success stories of embryo donation and adoption. You know the story: The family who faced years of infertility and failed treatments, decides to take one last shot and pursue embryo adoption. And it works! They get pregnant on the first...
The Fallacy of Secrecy through Donor Conception
Do you believe that not telling your children how they were conceived is in your child’s best interest? Think again. Many people who are interested in donating their remaining embryos to another family have not yet told their children how they were conceived. What...
Grieving Family Building Expectations
Building a family is wrought with strange and unforeseen obstacles. Perhaps the oddest barrier we bump into is our own expectations of ourselves, our spouse, and how we thought our lives were going to unfold. Since our early childhoods, we were encouraged to plan and...
Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now!
September 2016—Day One of our honeymoon. My wife and I decide to drive the Maui coast, along the Road to Hana. A multi-hour journey, hairpin turns, and a day of reflection as we start our new lives and journey together. As we drive, we have our theme song...
Getting Schooled in Embryo Adoption
Since school is starting back up again, we thought it would be a great time to do a refresher course on the basics of embryo adoption! Got your #2 pencil and college ruled paper ready to go? Let's begin! 1. Embryo donation and embryo adoption are two different...
Childbirth Success for Older Women
It has become the societal norm for women in the United States to delay motherhood. This may be due to advancing careers, economic reasons, or simply it is their choice. However, are there consequences for doing so? The biological fact is the quality of the remaining...
Not Biologically Ours, But Completely Our Son
We tried to expand our family for 10 years. It started with fertility drugs, then several IUIs, then graduating to two failed IVFs. Shortly after the IVF cycles, I got pregnant naturally—twice within a year! Both ended in early miscarriages, with one testing to have...
What Does an Embryologist Do?
On July 25, 1978, the world’s first “test tube baby” was born. Since then, millions of babies have been conceived through the science of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The primary medical professional involved with creating embryos for IVF is the embryologist. An...
Remaining Embryos: Planning for the Future
It seems like every few months, another news article is making its way around the internet, covering an all too familiar story. (And no, it is not about coronavirus!) We are talking about the story of the divorcing couple in a bitter dispute because one party wants to...
The Embryo Adoption Home Study: What Are Your Options?
An adoption home study is an evaluation and educational tool used to help the adoption agency and you, as adopting parents, to determine your preparedness to parent through adoption. Some embryo adoption organizations require their recipient families to successfully...
Adopting Embryos Created with Anonymous Donors
Even though embryo adoption has been around for more than two decades, sometimes this kind of adoption can be a bit of a brain bender. When couples who desire to build their family begin to explore embryo adoption, many form the idea in their minds pretty quickly that...
Only One Was Meant for Us
My husband and I decided to embark on our IVF journey in 2014. Our hope, our dream, was to have a child. Naturally, this was what our entire focus was; with very little thought and prayer of what would come after our dream had come true. In which it did! In July of...
What Do Sport Injuries and Male-Factor Infertility Have in Common?
It is not easy to be a man in America. Cultural and media messages seem to provide an ever-moving target for male identity. “Be sensitive, but not too sensitive.” “Anger is acceptable, sadness is not.” “Take care of your problems, do not ask for help.” “Relationships...
Accepting Your Donor Conceived Child
Picture it: you planned to meet someone at a party, only to arrive and realize they are not there. Do you go from room to room looking for them? Or step back outside to wait for them? Does it make you feel uneasy being amongst others who clearly know each other at...