Ellen Says: Embryo donation is a form of third party reproduction. In vitro fertilisation, or IVF, often results in a number of frozen, unused embryos after the woman for whom they were originally created has successfully carried one or more pregnancies to term.
In embryo donation, these extra embryos are given to other couples or women for transfer with the goal of producing a successful pregnancy. The resulting child is considered the child of the woman who carries it and gives birth, and not the child of the donor, the same as occurs with egg donation or sperm donation.
Typically, genetic parents donate the eggs to a fertility clinic or "embryo bank" where they are cryogenically preserved until a carrier is found for them. Typically the process of matching the embryo(s) with the prospective parents is conducted by the agency itself, at which time the clinic transfers ownership of the embryos to the prospective parents.
In the United States, women seeking to be an embryo recipient undergo infectious disease screening required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and reproductive tests to determine the best placement location and cycle timing before the actual Embryo Transfer occurs.
The amount of screening the embryo has already undergone is largely dependent on the genetic parents' own IVF clinic and process. The embryo recipient may elect to have her own embryologist conduct further testing.
Alternatives to donating unused embryos are discarding them (or having them implanted at a time where pregnancy is very unlikely, keeping them frozen indefinitely, donating them for use in embryonic stem cell research.
A US study concluded that embryo donation is approximately twice as cost-effective as oocyte donation in terms of cost per live birth, with a cost of $22,000 per live delivery compared to $41,000 for oocyte donation.
1 comment:
It is very nice that you have used the correct term for embryo donation (rather than embryo adoption, one can adopt a person who has been born but not an embryo), however there are numerous errors in what you have posted. I am not sure if you are the original author as I have seen this elsewhere in the past.
Typically, genetic parents donate the eggs to a fertility clinic or "embryo bank" where they are cryogenically preserved until a carrier is found for them. Typically the process of matching the embryo(s) with the prospective parents is conducted by the agency itself, at which time the clinic transfers ownership of the embryos to the prospective parents.
First off they do not donate their “eggs” (egg donation is a completely different process), they donate embryos. The embryos are excess embryos created during a couples IVF procedure and cryopreserved (frozen) for future use. Often the couple becomes pregnant and does not desire any more children and will never use the remaining embryos themselves. Other times the couple becomes pregnant, delivers a child and several years later they decide they would like to have another and use some or all of their frozen embryos. Still others give up trying for various reasons. At this point in time they are faces with a difficult decision of what to do with the remaining embryos. The options are 1) thaw the embryos and allow them to die, 2) Donate them to scientific research such as embryonic stem cell research, 3) donate them to another couple, and 4) continue storage.
For many the first option is not an option. The option of donating them for research is appealing to some but offensive to others because the embryos are ultimately destroyed even if their destruction is beneficial. The option of donating them to other couples is also appealing to some and not an option for others because many look at their frozen embryos as their “children” and do not feel comfortable with their children being out their in the world with other parents. The fourth option is really not much of an option and just delays the final decision.
In the United States, women seeking to be an embryo recipient undergo infectious disease screening required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
This statement is totally incorrect. The FDA requires NO testing of the recipient, in fact FDA regulations that are applied to egg and sperm donation are NOT applied to embryo donation.
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