Why do couples decide to use an embryo donor?
Couples choose embryo donation for reasons based on their individual circumstances. Some couples have tried to unsuccessfully to achieve a pregnancy through other fertility treatments. In other couples the woman’s ovaries are incapable of producing a fertile egg and the man has no sperm.  Some couples are uncomfortable with risks associated with an IVF cycle. Embryo adoption and traditional adoption are options for these couples. The benefits to choosing a donor embryo include control over the prenatal care of the baby and the intended mother being able to experience pregnancy, childbirth and nursing a baby.

What does a donor embryo cycle entail?
An embryo donation cycle is very similar to a frozen embryo transfer. The recipient woman will be placed on medications to suppress her ovaries (typically oral contraceptive pills and Lupron). Then she will take an oral Estrogen for approximately two weeks to grow her uterine lining to prepare for the transfer of the embryos into her uterus. During the time that she is taking the Estrogen she will attend monitoring appointments, so the fertility specialist can monitor the progress of her uterine lining thickness and hormone levels. When the lining is ready, the woman will begin Progesterone and continue Estrogen.

The embryos will be thawed and then transferred. An entire cycle takes approximately six weeks. The woman will continue both Progesterone and Estrogen until two weeks after the embryo transfer at which time a blood draw pregnancy test will be done. If positive, the woman will continue Progesterone and Estrogen until 12 weeks gestation.

What is the cost of a donor embryo cycle?

*Does not include costs for initial new patient consultation/follow up, cycle medications and pre-cycle infectious disease screening for recipient couple.

How many embryos will be available to the recipient couple to transfer?
The number of embryos available to transfer will be based on the ARSM guidelines and the donor woman’s age at the time the embryos were created.

Why do couples decide to donate their embryos to other couples?
Patients who have completed their family or are incapable of continuing to pay their storage fees have a variety of embryo disposition options (1) discard their embryos, (2) donate their embryos to research, training, and quality control (3) donate their embryos to other couples to achieve a pregnancy. Some couples are uncomfortable with the idea of discarding their embryos and/or donating their embryos to research and while they might feel their family is complete they would still like their embryos to have a chance at life, so they see embryo donation as the best option. Many donors simply want to help other couples navigate their fertility journey as they also did.

What kind of process does the RCC Infertility Center use to screen donated embryos?
The donating couple is asked to complete a screening process that includes:

1. Medical and Genetic History (three generation for the donating husband and wife)
2. Updated infectious disease screening and genetic testing
3. Genetic interview with RCC geneticist

Due to changes in FDA guidelines, embryos created prior to May 25, 2005 may not have completed or updated testing and/or a genetic report compared to embryos donated after that date.

What kind of selection process does RCC use to screen donor embryo recipient couples?
Patients who donate their additional embryos to the embryo donation program at RCC, place their trust in RCC to match their embryos with couples who will be able to provide a loving family for their embryo(s) should a pregnancy be achieved. RCC takes this trust very seriously and has minimum requirements that recipient couples must meet in order to adopt embryos:

• Recipient woman must be 45 years old or younger
• Recipient couple must have a combined age equal to or less than 100
• Recipient couple must undergo and pass a home study
• Recipient couple must complete an infectious disease screening

After all screening has been completed; the recipient couple may proceed with a cycle.

How does a recipient couple get matched with a donated embryo?
Recipient couples are asked to fill out a matching request form, indicating physical and personal characteristics of the recipient couple and asking for any specific characteristics requested in the embryos they will be matched with. Once received, the Donor Embryo Coordinator will review the matching request form and select 3-5 donor embryos who fit those criteria. Couples will then be asked to select one donor embryo couple from that list. Those embryos will be exclusively offered to the couple for 14 days. Beyond 14 days, the embryos will be offered to other couples and the couple will lose their exclusive choice of those donated embryos.  

What does a recipient couple do once they find the donor they would like to use for their donor embryo cycle?
When recipients find a profile that meets their personal preferences they contact the Donor Embryo Coordinator to begin coordinating their cycle. The recipient couple will need to pay a deposit to hold that donor (this fee will be applied towards the overall base Donor Embryo cycle fee). The Donor Embryo Coordinator will assist the recipient couple with every step of the process in order to ensure that their cycle goes as smoothly as possible.

What psychological aspects do couples need to be aware of regarding embryo adoption?
Choosing embryo adoption as a means to parenthood is a personal decision. While it is a great option for some, it is not the right option for all couples. Various things to consider are: feelings regarding no genetic link to the child, attachment issues, issues of disclosure (who to tell, who not to tell, when and how to tell the child), marriage (are both parties-man and woman comfortable with a child from donated embryos), financial considerations (all the costs associated with the pre-screening, the cycle, medications and additional cycles if a pregnancy is not achieved), possibility of a failed cycle(s), possibility of a pregnancy with multiples, among others. For these reasons, couples are required to have a home study to make sure they are emotionally prepared to handle all the aspects associated with donor embryo adoption.

Donor Embryo Program Links

• Donor Embryo Program Overview
• Donor Embryo Recipient Letter
• Donor Embryo Cycle Steps