Overview of Embryo Adoption

Embryo adoption gives the opportunity to adopt an unborn child. It sounds different from traditional infant adoption, but genetically unrelated embryo adoption is already established as a solution for an infertile couple. Advancement of reproductive medicine allows the adoptive mother to carry donated embryo in her womb for nine months to fetus development and after completion of the gestational period, she delivers the child. Therefore, embryo adoption gives the experience of natural pregnancy.

The parental rights transferring from donor to recipient is conducted legally in the embryo adoption process, which is quite similar to infant adoption. In this process, both the matching process and adoption dwelling study are conducted. embryo adoption, the donor has no scope to change her mind to parent her child, as she donated embryo. The adoptive family has only parental rights on the child after giving birth. Another advantage in embryo adoption is adoptive family completely aware of the prenatal care received their adoptive child. In addition, the emotional bonding between adoptive child and parents is started very naturally at the early stage of life, which helps to easy adaptability of the new member in the family.

Embryo adoption process

Overall embryo adoption process follows similar steps, however, it may vary a little extent depending upon the norms of the agency embryo donors and adoptive parents.  In the embryo adoption process, both donor and recipient play an important role in the successful completion of the process. Couple who want adopts embryo usually unable to build their family due to unable to conceive naturally or repeated failure of the IVF cycle. In such condition, couple needs to select donor couple who already completed their family through IVF process and want to donate viable, healthy unused frozen embryo, which they preserve in embryo bank. Both, anonymous and non-anonymous embryo donation processes are available. In embryo adoption matching with adopting couples, the requirement is a very important step. Usually, adoptive family hires embryo adoption agency to the hassle-free adoption process.

Selection of agency

The selection of an agency is a very important step in the embryo adoption process. The agency takes the responsibility to search embryo donor for the perfect match with the adoptive family requirement, coordinate with a medical and legal professional for conduction the medical process and transferring the legal parental rights. In agency selection, adoptive parents need to do their own research to obtain effective service.

Adoptive Home Study - Adoptive parent needs to do a home study to evaluate the readiness of their family to raise a child completely. This is a practical evaluation must do before adopting a child.

Matching - Both adaptive family and donor family have their own criteria. Adaptive family when confirmed their acceptance of adoption, then they filled-up the form of agency by mentioning their selection criteria of donor's family. Similarly, donors also provide information about their medical history as well as mention their interest to donate their embryo in an adoptive family. Age, religion, income, the existing number of child, desire to future contact, etc are certain factors usually considered in the matching process.

Legal contract - The legal contract signed between adopting and donating parents for transferring the custody of the embryos along with the complete parental right to the adoptive couples. This procedure is performed before the embryo transfer procedure.

Embryo Transfer – After completion of legal contract signature, the medical process has started. Adoptive mother has undergone fertility treatment for physiological preparation to accept the embryo within her womb. This procedure follows similar step as in IVF process.

A pregnancy usually confirmed within a few days of embryo transfer and adoptive mother should start receiving prenatal care for a healthy pregnancy. Embryo adoption has its own benefits as well as challenges. The couple should well aware of whole process and success rate before adopting an embryo adoption program.

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