A Less Traveled Path Explained

In case you didn't see my earlier post, "A Less Traveled Path," our family is pursuing embryo adoption, which is a little known means of adoption.  I first heard about embryo adoption several years ago when I was listening to a Focus On The Family broadcast on our local radio station.  They had an entire program dedicated to the subject and I was captivated!  I could have started the process right then and there, except that the Lord had other plans for us before we could take a journey down that path.

 So how does one goes about adopting an embryo?

WHERE EMBRYOS COME FROM

In order to know where embryos come from, you have to know a little bit about in vitro fertilization (IVF).  IVF is a process that couples who are unable to conceive by natural means go through to hopefully produce children that are biologically related to them.  Because of the method used to create* the embryos, typically there are more embryos created than can be reasonably transferred to the woman's uterus.  As an example, let's say a couple goes through the IVF process and 12 embryos are created.  In order to maximize the chances of pregnancy, three embryos are transferred to her uterus resulting in a pregnancy.  The remaining 9  embryos would be cryopreserved for their future use.  This is a very, very basic explanation of IVF with LOTS of details left out!  For our purposes, you just need to know that embryos come from IVF cycles in which there were an excess of embryos created.  For a more detailed explanation of how embryos are created during an in vitro cycle, go here.

*I fully acknowledge that no life is created unless God wills it to be so, so when I refer to "creating" embryos, it is ultimately God who does the creating, not man.

For various reasons, there are couples who do not wish to, or are not able to use the remaining embryos that have been cryogenically preserved.  There are an estimated four to five hundred thousand frozen embryos as a result of IVF in the United States.  Let me write that out for you - 400,000 - 500,000 frozen embryos.That's a lot of little snowflakes hanging in limbo!  The options these families have are 1) to destroy them  2) donate them to science 3) do nothing and they will deteriorate and die, or 4) donate them to a couple who will give them the opportunity to be born that they deserve.

That's where we come in!

OUR JOURNEY

Our infertility journey started five years ago and has included multiple failed assisted reproduction cycles.  We didn't want any regrets, so we gave artificial insemination three tries, all which failed.  We could only stomach one IVF cycle emotionally and financially, and much to our sorrow, our one and only little embryo did not implant.  I have mourned that little one just like other women who have suffered a miscarriage.  You are forever in my heart my little one, and I know you rest safe in the arms of Jesus.

The next path on our journey took us down the road of traditional adoption.  After multiple failed adoptions, God is His great mercy, grace and perfect timing brought us our precious son, Stephen Luke.  We will be writing about his story for many years to come, and an amazing one it is!

Following Luke's birth, we immediately began talking about our next adoption and what path we felt the Lord was leading us down.  We discussed embryo adoption, and the more we talked about it, the more personal experiences we read of others who had walked that path, and the more we prayed about it, we became convinced it was the right path for us to follow at this time.

In my next post on the subject, I will tell you about the embryo adoption process and where we are at on our journey.  It is moving much faster than I anticipated!  Woo hoo!