Genetics of Embryo Donation

It’s been almost two and a half months since I gave birth to my beautiful daughter. I cannot describe the love I have for this child. It is overwhelming at times. Not surprisingly, until sitting down to work on this blog, I have never once given any thought to the fact that my daughter and I do not have a genetic link. My daughter is so much a part of me that I really just do not think about genes at all. I just enjoy watching my daughter develop before my eyes. I love witnessing her feisty personality and I often wonder what she will look like when she gets older. While I realize that much of who she is was determined by the genes she received from the egg and sperm donors, this has never detoured me from thinking that my daughter is any less MY child.

Maybe I feel that way because I grew up with a step-dad. My parent’s divorced when I was a baby and my mom remarried when I was five. My step-dad assumed the role of my dad. Essentially, I am my step-dad’s daughter. He was an incredible man. He was honorable, loving and kind. He loved science fiction, music and the arts in general. So it may not be surprising that I have an intense appreciation for all things Star Trek and that my taste in music is eclectic. My step-dad was the one constant voice inside my head guiding me in life...always encouraging me to do the right thing. I’ve become the woman I am today because of my step-dad. There has never been a time when I thought he was not my dad because we did not share the same genes. 

However, I realize that for some people the lack of biological connection is a big reason that they decide against embryo donation. Admittedly, my husband and I have not yet told many friends or relatives that our beautiful daughter resulted from a donated embryo. Not because we are ashamed, or because we want to keep it a secret forever. We just thought that it might be best for these family members to get to know our daughter and develop a relationship with her before hearing our story. The family and friends we have told have been nothing but loving and supportive.  

The one issue we wrestle with is when we should tell our daughter about the circumstances of her birth. We both feel that she should know as early as possible. However, I would like the topic to begin immediately when she’s old enough to understand even the most basic definition of her conception. From what I’ve read, experts say the topic should be an evolving conversation; a process more or less. As our daughter matures we should introduce the more complex details. While I tend to agree, my husband still wants to do some more reading. The issue is really not significantly more challenging than a more traditional “adoption” situation. Thankfully, we have some time to read as much as possible before coming to a decision. Whatever we do decide, it will ultimately be what is best for our daughter. How we go about telling her we will save for another post!

If you are considering Embryo Donation and have questions, please feel free to post a comment or send me an email at Warrellje@gmail.com.

Why we chose Embryo Donation

My husband and I never imagined that I would have trouble getting pregnant. I had two children from
my previous marriage and had no issues conceiving them. So twenty years later, when we were told by my fertility specialist that I had extremely low egg reserves, we were surprised. We were also told that we were not candidates for IVF and that egg donation was our only option. However, once we started pricing the costs associated with egg donation, we quickly realized that the hefty price would make reaching our goal quite challenging.

Around the same time, we were planning a trip to Europe to attend my step daughter's wedding in Greece. While arranging our travel, I happened to come across an article online discussing affordable
IVF abroad. The article discussed how many US couples are foregoing expensive IVF treatments in the United States for less expensive IVF options in Europe. After numerous internet searches, we learned that a number of options were available in some European countries. 

Due to my husband being in his later fifties, we had already started to consider whether embryo donation  might be best for us. We knew that we could love a child without regard to any
genetic connections. So when we learned that clinics in the Czech Republic and Spain offered anonymous embryo donation, we immediately knew that this was the best option for us.

 Embryo Donation Articles: 

Egg Donation in European Clinics

Donor Embryos: US or Abroad?

 

In the US, many couples who can no longer afford or no longer want to store their embryo's will donate them to couples trying to conceive. However, because these couples had difficulty conceiving as well, these embryo's may not always be of good quality. Therefore, it may take several attempts before a successful transfer will result in a pregnancy. There's also a very good possibility that none of the donated embryo's will take. 

Each state in the US also has its own laws regarding embryo donation. For example, here in my home state of Ohio, it is called "Embryo Adoption." A couple donating their embryo can require that the recipient of the egg go through the same process that would apply if you were adopting a child. This involves interviews, adoption classes and home visits before any possibility of approval. Furthermore, in Ohio it is also not as easy to acquire embryos. You can contact a fertility specialist to see if they have any clients who are interested in donating embryos. Alternatively, you can contact one of the private organizations who help individuals locate an embryo. Either way, you have to locate a couple who are willing to pass on their embryo. Sometimes these donors want to be able to have contact with your child after it is born. These are obviously challenging issues. 

In the Czech Republic and Spain, egg and sperm donors are anonymous.  There are plenty of donors, and the donors must be by law no older than thirty-five. The screening of donors is also very rigorous. They are screened for both sexually transmitted and genetic diseases, and must undergo psychological counseling.  There are also no waiting lists because there are so many donor.

European clinics offering anonymous embryo donation: 

Czech Republic

Reprogensis

Zlin

IVF Cube 

Praga Medica  

Reprofit

Sanus

 Spain

Institut Marques

Barcelona IVF

We hope that by sharing our story, we can help other couples in similar circumstances.  

Why we chose Reprofit

Hello Everyone,

In selecting a clinic, we ultimately chose Reprofit in the Czech Republic for the following reasons:

1) When researching clinics throughout Europe, we found many favorable reviews for Reprofit on a

number of fertility discussion boards. We asked the people who had posted about their experiences

and we were able to compile a lot of information about the experiences that these people had with

Reprofit. We soon came to believe that the level of medical care in the Czech Republic was every bit as good as the care that we might receive here in America.

 2) We also learned that, unlike America, embryo adoption in the Czech Republic is completely anonymous. There is no fear that we would ever be contacted by either the egg donor or sperm donor. There were also no contracts to sign or home visits to endure.

3) The embryos are created using donated eggs and sperm from anonymous donors. The donors go through a lengthy screening process and are all under the age of 32. Furthermore, we learned that Reprofit does not use “left- over” embryos from a couples’ IVF cycle.

4) Reprofit has no “waiting period”. This made arranging the procedure around my vacation time much easier.

5) All of our appointments were scheduled through a third party consultant (Miracles Waiting), which

facilitated making communications with the clinic.

6) Reprofit was significantly more affordable, even after factoring in a.) the cost of travel and b.) the

fact that we had to make the trip twice because our first visit was not successful. We were able to save money on our second visit through a “Shared Risk” program that “Miracles Waiting” has with the clinic.

7.) While I do not know the current costs charged by the clinic, my cost was approximately $ 2500.00 for the first visit. Because I had to return a second time, I was was charged $1500.00 for the second visit.

8.) Finally, while you should check current pricing for flights, my travel costs amounted to about $2000.00 for airfare to and from and about $500.00 for ground transportation. I can’t provide you with exact figures for my two trips because we included a bit of a vacation. But suffice it to say that the cost and quality of hotels in Europe are comparable to those here in America. You do want to book ahead in order to get the best price.

9. And finally, do not be afraid of any language barriers. Apparently, English has become the international language of business. Every hotel desk clerk we met in Europe spoke English as did most cab drivers and restaurant servers. So did most shopkeepers and police officers. And the majority of Doctors and staff at Reprofit were fully fluent as well.