Six Steps Of The Embryo Adoption Process

While every family’s story is unique, there are several common steps that will occur in every embryo adoption process. That’s why we’ve pulled together the six big steps below.

1. Locate your Donor Embryos. There are several ways to do this. You can sign up through an agency, clinic, online matching service, or appeal to your personal network for leads. One of the easiest ways is to post your profile and start searching online today at www.NRFA.org.

Watch this video to see a telestration of how embryo adoption works. (Courtesy of Embryo Adoption Awareness Center)

2. Get your Doctor’s Approval. Your fertility doctor will look at all the medical factors and then give you their recommendation. Once you’re serious about a potential match, ask for their medical & embryo records so that your doctor can have all the information and point out any facts you may have overlooked or misunderstood.

3. Sign a Contract. In most states, embryo adoption is considered a “property transfer” much like selling a vehicle. If you prefer to, you can tailor your contract to be more like a traditional adoption agreement. After a child is born, you can choose to finalize the adoption in court (not necessary in some states).

You can purchase an embryo adoption contract from NRFA as well. Simply log in and select “Embryo Contract” under “Additional Features.”

4. Arrange Transportation for the Embryos. This is much easier than it sounds. The clinic currently  housing the embryos will tell you which transportation company they prefer and give you their contact info. You will sign the paperwork, give them your payment info, tell them which clinic to ship it to and they will take care of the rest.

5. Start Taking Medicine. Once your embryos have arrived safely at their new clinic, your doctor will start you on medicine (Ex: birth control, estrogen and progesterone) to prepare your body. Typically, you can expect to take one or two pills per day with little to no side effects.

6. Frozen embryo transfer. The last and most nerve-wracking of the embryo adoption process. This procedure is very similar to a pap-smear. It’s pretty quick and painless. Then on to bed-rest for 24-72 hours depending on your doctor’s recommendation.

Our goal as NRFA is to simplify the embryo adoption process so that you spend less time waiting and more time connecting with embryo donors, birth parents, or waiting families. Sign in and start connecting today.