Key Considerations on if You Should Donate Embryos

When someone uses in vitro fertilization to conceive, the normal procedure is to collect multiple embryos beforehand. The idea is to have many fertilized embryos available so that doctors can try again if the procedure doesn’t work the first time. Also, having a group of fertilized embryos available lets people have multiple children if they so desire. After finishing the process, there are sometimes embryos left over. People could decide that they want no more children, or perhaps every attempt failed, and the people decide no longer to proceed. In these cases, donating the embryos is an option.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Embryo donation is both ethical and legal. When you donate embryos, you are giving a gift to another person who experiences infertility. If you receive embryos and thereafter become pregnant, then you will be considered the resulting child’s birth parent instead of the person who donated. Therefore, there is no legal wrangling after the birth of the child or children. With us, you also get to participate in the recipient selection process.

In general, there are three kinds of donations: closed, semi-open, and open. In a closed situation, there is no contact between the donor and the recipient. Some people choose to receive notifications if a baby is born from one of their donated embryos, but this is the only possible contact before the child turns 18 years old. When the child reaches maturity, and if that person contacts us for information, then we’ll share it.

In a semi-open donation, there would be contact allowed through an intermediary, which is usually through our office. The contact is limited, generally annual updates with photos and a few paragraphs about how the child is doing. The same rules regarding the child reaching maturity apply.

If you choose an open donation, then you and the family of the recipient will be in contact through the entire process. Often, the recipient’s family “adopts” the donor’s family. You might even become the “eccentric aunt and uncle” or a “treasured cousin”, sometimes even a godfather or godmother.

Only you can decide which kind of donation is right for you. You must remember, though, that once you donate an embryo, you will no longer be the parent. The recipient will.

Medical Considerations

With an open or semi-open donation, it’s also possible for the families to share medical histories and/or genetic information in the case of medical emergencies or genetic conditions. For example, if the child eventually needs a transplant of some kind, then it would be possible for the recipient family to contact the donor family to see if there is an organ match.

Future Family Planning

It’s a good idea to consider donation carefully because once you donate your leftover embryos, you cannot get them back. It’s an incredibly generous thing to do and can be highly rewarding in the future, but you still need to be emotionally ready for it. We can help, so give us a call to make an appointment to discuss your options in greater depth.

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