Embryo Adoption 101

This is a continuation of my post A Less Traveled Path Explained.  I have heard that my post caused quite a stir out there!  Whacko Tom and Kristine!  What are they thinking at THEIR AGE?!!! Don't they know how expensive children are?  They've already got four kids!  Why do they think they need to adopt more?  They're never going to be able to retire, and when they do, they won't have any money!  They might even die before all of the kids are gone from their house!  I suppose to some, our philosophies and beliefs might be eccentric.  In a culture that values pleasure and comfort over sacrifice, and extravagance over simplicity, our belief that the highest calling given to a husband and wife is that of raising children is extreme and bizarre.  We're OK with that, and we are certain that all of the children out there that need families -- children already born and tiny children frozen in time -- would gladly choose an "old mom and dad" over "no mom and dad."  We are confident that the Lord will abundantly provide in every way for any more children He brings into our family.  Young age does not guarantee health.  Old age does not guarantee illness.  We trust in the sovereign and perfect will of God almighty, who has ordained all things (Psalm 139), including the number of children He has already chosen to add to our family (or not).  We'll officially retire when we stand face-to-face before our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Until then, we pray that everything said and done in between then and now brings Him glory! 

And now on to embryo adoption . . . . .


In my previous post on embryo adoption, I told you where embryos available for adoption come from.  In this post, I'll explain how one goes about adopting embryos.

I first heard of embryo adoption years ago on the radio when I was listening to a program being broadcast by Focus on the Family.  The program was discussing the first child born through embryo adoption, and how this amazing process gave women who couldn't conceive on their own the option of experiencing pregnancy and birth.  You can read about the birth of Hannah Strege (born December 31, 1998), the first adopted embryo, here.  From the time I learned that there were babies frozen that nobody wanted, I wanted one -- or two or three!!!!  However, that journey wouldn't begin for some time.

The Clinic We Chose
Today, there are multiple websites, clinics, and agencies across the country offering the services of embryo adoption.  In choosing a clinic to work with, integrity and success rate (in that order) were most important to Tom and I, which is why we chose to apply to the embryo adoption program at the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in Knoxville, TN.  Everything we read about Dr. Keenan on the NEDC website and the testimony of his patients spoke of his faith in God and his conviction that life begins at conception.  That's the kind of doctor we want to work with!  As an added bonus, the NEDC's rate of pregnancy per transfer is 50% -- the highest in the country!

Requirements
Our first step was to determine if we met the NEDC's criteria for adopting couples:

• Couples must be married for a minimum of 3 years.
• Wife must be 45 years old or younger.
• The combined age of applicant couple must not exceed 100 years.
• The wife must not smoke during the application process, embryo transfer preparation and procedure process, or during pregnancy.
• At least one partner of the adopting couple must be a legal citizen of the United States.
• Couples must undergo and pass a home study.
• Wife must be medically cleared by Dr. Keenan to proceed to transfer.

We met the initial criteria, so we went on to the second step which was to fill out an application.  Our application was accepted on March 30th and a packet was sent to us by the NEDC to guide us in the next steps.  After we received the packet, we began working on our profile that would be given to the donor family to review when we reached that stage.  Requisitions were included in the packet for both Tom and I to have blood drawn, which we did, and the results were sent to the NEDC.  We also began working on getting our home study updated.  The home study we completed in May of 2010 had an expiration date of May 31, 2011, which is why it was necessary to get it updated.  I called the NEDC to set up our initial appointment with Dr. Keenan for the mock transfer.  The date was set for July 7th at 9:00 a.m.  Our home study was completed the last week of June and would be sent to the NEDC in time for our July 7th appointment. 

Mock Transfer Appointment
We left for Knoxville and the Soaring Eagle Campground on July 6th with Sarah, Luke and Kristin Hawkins with us.  The plan was for Sarah and Kristin to babysit while Tom and I went to our appointment with Dr. Keenan.  The worst part of the appointment was having a VERY FULL bladder after drinking 60 oz. of water in order for Dr. Keenan to do the mock transfer (which included a transvaginal ultrasound -- sorry if TMI!) so he could visualize and take notes on where exactly he needed to place the embryos for the actual transfer.  We were very glad to hear that following our interview and my exam, we were cleared to proceed to transfer!

Profile Selection
On July 15th, we were sent via e-mail four profiles of donor families who had embryos available for adoption.  We had no idea prior to receiving the profiles how difficult the selection would be.  What is the most important criteria when selecting embryos for adoption?  When one knows that the fingerprints of God are all over each and every embryo, how in the world do you choose one over the other?! Choosing some means that you reject the others.  The profiles gave us the ages of the biological parents, family heritage, physical characteristics, medical information, hobbies, favorite colors, food, and music preferences.  We were given 24 hours to make our decision.  We based our decision for the donors we chose as our first choice on the fact that we  felt a connection with the biological mother because she is adopted and the couple was around our age (we'll call them B & N).  Some people may see those as negative factors because N does not know her genetic history and younger women have healthier embryos.  Not knowing her genetic history doesn't scare us because as the child of a closed adoption, I don't know mine either.  The IVF cycle that produced the embryos B & N are putting up for adoption gave them twin boys, so we know their embryos are capable of producing a pregnancy.

The process of choosing our embryos has caused Tom and I to ask some very weighty questions.  Would we have chosen Luke if we had seen his biological parents and genetic history on paper?  Would my parents have chosen me if they had seen my biological parents and genetic history on paper?  Is that what the value of human life comes down to -- who ones biological parents are and genetic history?  Our conclusion was ABSOLUTELY NOT!  All human life is fearfully and wonderfully made by God, the creator of heaven and earth and all things contained therein.

B & N only have four embryos available for adoption, so we needed to make another choice as the NEDC wants us to have 6 embryos available at transfer time.  In making our second choice selection, the stage that the embryos were frozen at became the deciding factor.  B & N had embryos that were frozen at the 5-day blastocyst stage, therefore our second choice would have to be at the 5-day blastocyst stage as well.  When we were given the profiles for review, I was told on the phone that we needed to have 5 embryos for transfer, so we chose E & M's profile who only have 1 blastocyst available for adoption.  After we informed the NEDC of our choices -- B & N and E & M equaling 5 blastocysts -- I read in our paperwork that we needed 6 embryos for transfer because only 75% of the embryos typically survive the thawing process.  (I absolutely shudder as I write that!!  What in the world are we doing freezing babies if it can kill them???!!!)  I inquired about the fact that we only had 5, but didn't hear anything back, so I am assuming that we are fine with 5 embryos for transfer day.

Negotiating the Open Donation Agreement
After we made our donor family choices, a social worker (SW) from Bethany Christian Services contacted us to begin the mediation process between donors and recipients.  Our profile was presented to each couple and they had to accept or decline our request for their embryos.  It took a few days for our SW, Debbie, to get in touch with both couples, but she eventually made contact and they both indicated that they had accepted our profile and would sign an agreement releasing their embryos to us.  The next step was negotiating the terms of the agreement.  Unlike traditional adoption, there aren't any laws governing embryo adoption given that it is such a new area of practice.  How does a country make laws recognizing the fact that the earliest stage of life is indeed human, has rights and is adoptable, when this same country has made it legal to murder the tiniest of these lives?  And therein lies the quandry for a country who has turned its back on God.  Embryo adoption is not recognized as adoption in the United States -- it is called "transfer of property."  We know that it is more than a transfer of property!  The NEDC also knows that and has partnered with Bethany Christian Services, the largest adoption agency in the world, to assist their clients through the process of donating and adopting embryos. 

We have a completed and signed agreement with E & M, and we are currently waiting to hear back from Debbie that she has received a signed agreement back from B & N.  Our understanding is that the embryos from both couples have already been shipped to the NEDC.  Once the NEDC has received word that the agreements have been finalized, we will have officially adopted five little people, making us the parents of 9!

Cycle Preparation
Once the NEDC knew that we had chosen 5-day blastocysts for transfer, they scheduled our transfer for September 19th and prepared a protocol for me to follow to prepare my uterus for acceptance of the blastocysts.  The meds I have started taking and will be taking in the next few weeks will prepare the environment of my uterus to exactly mimic the hormonal state my uterus would be in naturally if the embryos had been conceived in my body.  A 5-day blastocyst conceived naturally would have already traveled down the fallopian tube and would be ready to drop into the uterus and implant.  The science behind all of this truly amazes me!

Meds
My protocol is as follows:
7-15 - Start birth control pills (puts my cycle on hold)
8-22 - Begin Lupron injections (shuts off pituitary disabling my hormone system giving Dr. Keenan total control)
8-26 - Take last birth control pill
8-31 - Go to local fertility clinic to have blood drawn and ultrasound of uterus - results fax'd to NEDC
9-1 - Begin taking Estrace (estrogen - thickens uterine lining - dose will be determined by blood and ultrasound monitoring)
9-10 - Last dose of Lupron (woo hoo!)
9-14 - Blood draw and ultrasound done at local clinic - results fax'd to NEDC
9-15 - Begin Progesterone in Oil (PIO) injections (progesterone keeps the uterine lining from shedding and is normally produced by the follicle from which ovulation occurred)
9-19 - Transfer!

 Here is a picture of my meds collection

So far, the medication process has been easy.  I don't enjoy needles, but giving myself the Lupron injections hasn't been bad at all.  I had to give myself the same injections when we did our IVF cycle, so I knew what to expect.  The estrace comes in the form of a tablet so no problem there.  The PIO shots, however, I am not looking forward to.  I had to give myself those injections with our IVF cycle and they were positively dreadful.  They must be given intra-muscularly in the bum, the needle is long, and the liquid is viscous, making injecting it a sloooow process.  Ideally, one has someone who can give them their injection, but that is not going to happen for me. Tom is extremely squeamish and has tried to give them to me before.  I remember that he gave me the injection without passing out, but he went a little too slow for my comfort and was quite weak and pale after he was done.  Andrew has tried to give me one before, but he nearly passed out ended up laying on the ground after he did it.  Christian and Sarah say they absolutely cannot.  Since the injections are vital to sustain a pregnancy, I guess I will be giving them to myself.  I did it before, I will find the intestinal fortitude to do it again!  I only had to give them to myself once a day the last time -- this time I will be giving myself an injection in the morning and evening.

I have already been given the date of my blood pregnancy test, but Tom and I have chosen to keep that quiet.  It's either going to be a really happy day or a really weepy day, but we promise to let you know after we have informed family of the results!

More Info on Embryo Adoption

The website Miracles Waiting has put together a very informative question and answer page about embryo adoption which I found extremely helpful!  

I think I have been a bad blogger because this was the next post I needed to do and I knew it was going to be a long one.  I'm glad I got it done, and now I can move on to other topics!  But not tonight.  Bubby Fuzz has been waking up before the sun comes up, so I am going to bed!