Skip to main content

Why Couples Without Infertility Adopt Embryos

I'm grateful to one of my readers who recently posted a completely fair question to the blog: Why did you decide to pursue embryo adoption even though you didn't face infertility?

Julie and I made sure to address this issue right up front in the letter we wrote to the couple that eventually became our placing family. (Note: A placing family is adoption lingo for a couple whose embryos have been frozen. Without our placing family, little Phoebe wouldn't be part of our household. John and Kris, we'll never be able to adequately thank you! We're honored to be on this journey with you.)

You see, there were at least five primary reasons we chose embryo adoption:

  • Friends of friends had successfully adopted embryos and brought them to term
  • Julie's background is as a scientist studying infertility, specifically endometriosis
  • We had discussed adoption since before we were married 10 years ago
  • As Christians, we believe life begins at conception, and that every embryo deserves the best chance at life -- the same is true for placing families who pay to have embryos stored 
  • Embryo adoption is about half as expensive as other forms of adoption
Part of me feels guilty because Julie and I have never faced infertility. It is a terribly painful experience for many, many couples, and I will never claim to understand what that feels like. The other part of me, though, wants couples to know that embryo adoption is a viable choice. Don't misread me: Prospective moms need to consult their doctors and other health experts to ensure they are able to undergo the regimen of medications and treatments embryo adoption requires.

I suspect if women have been through IVF cycles, they will know at least some of the routine quite well. 

Without question, embryo adoption isn't for everyone. But Julie and I believe more couples could be great candidates for adoption if they only knew it was even a possibility. 

Thank you for the question, and please keep them coming.

What do you want to know about embryo adoption? What information or encouragement would be helpful to you? Share your ideas by posting a comment below.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Toddler Interrogations

I invited Ezra to sit with me this morning as I wrote my blog post. His eyes immediately were drawn to the thumbnail pictures of me on the screen. "There's Nate. And there's Nate," he said. "Daddy," he continued, "is that your glasses and your head and your hair and your chin?" Yes, dear. Yes, it is. Now it's onto the computer battery. "Daddy, what's this called?" A computer battery, I responded. "Oh. A computer battery. Daddy, why is this for your mouse [pointing at the USB]? Is that to make the mouse and that to make the mouse move on the screen [point at the keyboard]?" And so it goes. Little minds connect all of the dots, starting with the right questions. All we have to do is answer them, and keep answering.
Post a Comment
Read more

'A Link Between Angels And Men'

I ran across a quote today that I think is particularly true and that parents know better than anyone: “A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.” That observation comes from the English writer Martin Farquhar Tupper , who lived from 1810 to 1889 . How is it that those words still resonate nearly 130 years after his death? Perhaps it is because they capture the joy of a newborn. Few sights are as innocent as a baby fast asleep, a hand across the chest, tiny fingers spread out and still. Indeed, it is this restful and unimpeded state so many adults seek and so few seem to find. Another explanation for the power of the passage is this: We have become so accustomed to the violence and suffering in our world that we long for the opposite state of being. It is a reality accessible only in our imaginations--and in the lives of our children. No wonder we seek to give t...
2 comments
Read more

The Spark Inside Every Baby

Julie and I enjoyed a delightful evening with longtime friends for the Fourth of July. The day ended with 360 degrees of fireworks around their home in southwest Missouri. There is a visceral excitement surrounding Independence Day. You can feel the explosive "pop" of fireworks as they launch from the ground and again when they burst apart mid-air. Every flash of light, every report -- the booms and the screams -- rekindles memories of my childhood in Colorado. My family would pack up our lawn chairs and head to a nearby golf course to watch fireworks launched from the Boulder County Fairgrounds. More recently, we've joined my parents to watch displays against the backdrop of the Flatirons. Yet for all of the similarities fireworks share, each is unique. There is fresh excitement for the observer because it's impossible to predict what the next display will look like, exactly. If you are a parent, you understand that watching your children mature similarly e...
2 comments
Read more