Terms & Conditions

(Updated: 8/1/2020)

General / Overview

The following Terms & Conditions shall apply to the relationship between NRFA, LLC, National Registry for Adoption, www.nrfa.org (collectively, “NRFA”) and the end user (“You” or “Your”). By using NRFA’s services, You accept these Terms & Conditions, as well as the manner in which NRFA operates. These Terms & Conditions constitute the entire agreement between NRFA and You and supersede and replace all prior commitments, undertakings, or representations, whether written or oral, between You and NRFA with respect of Your use of NRFA. Information on NRFA, such as the “Help” or “About Us” sections, are only recommendations and are not intended as rules or guidelines. NRFA is not liable or responsible for the actions of users or other individuals who have read or been informed of such information or other written material. If You have any questions, concerns, or comments about these Terms & Conditions, please email us at support@nrfa.org

Acceptance of Terms & Conditions

If You do not agree to the Terms & Conditions, do not use NRFA. If You access, use, or download in any way any service from NRFA, You agree to and are bound by these Terms & Conditions and also acknowledge that (a) You have had the opportunity to review all information on the NRFA website, (b) You have either reviewed the information or have chosen not to do so, and (c) You have had the opportunity to ask questions regarding NRFA and the information and to have those questions answered.

Changes to Terms & Conditions

NRFA may change (add to, delete, or amend) the Terms & Conditions from time to time, with or without cause. Should this occur, You agree that NRFA may provide You notice of such changes via an email from NRFA or by posing a change notice on the website for a reasonably limited time. It is Your responsibility to review any revised Terms & Conditions. Should You find any subsequent revisions to the Terms & Conditions unacceptable, You must cease using NRFA’s services. By continuing to access, use, or download in any way any service from NRFA following notice of a revision to the Terms & Conditions, You agree to and are bound by the Terms & Conditions as revised.

Eligibility

NRFA is only intended for use by adults, 18 years of age or older. Potential users under the age of 18 must have the consent of a parent or guardian to use NRFA. NRFA, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to refuse service, terminate accounts or remove or edit content.

Illegal and/or unauthorized use of NRFA, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of members by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email and unauthorized framing of or linking to NRFA may be investigated, and appropriate legal action will be taken.

NRFA reserves the right to limit in its sole discretion the number of user accounts per household. A single credit card may not be used in conjunction with multiple user accounts. NRFA limits the number of users per user account to two. No user may be registered under more than one account.

By using NRFA, you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority and capacity to enter into this Agreement and to abide by all the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Classes of Users and Agency Use

NRFA will have two (2) types of users each with a corresponding account class: (1) users looking to donate embryos; or (2) prospective parents who are looking for an embryo. Each account and user are limited to a single account class.

Registering

You may register only once with NRFA and agree not to provide misleading information when registering. Your chosen username must not be offensive, rude, disparaging, or intended to deceive or delude other NRFA users. Your username may not advertise for other websites or services or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of any third party.

If NRFA receives information that Your username is illegal or in breach of these Terms & Conditions as evaluated in NRFA’s sole discretion, Your user account may be frozen until You change the username. NRFA also may permanently close Your account without prior notice to You for violating these Terms & Conditions.

If you use NRFA, you are solely responsible for preserving the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your computer. NRFA will never ask for Your password except during login. You should never provide Your password to anyone, including NRFA employees. User accounts are non-transferable. Only You may use Your user account. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password and agree to be liable for all offensive or unlawful activities that are undertaken using Your user account.

Payment of User Fees

All potential recipients, also known as Waiting Families must pay a membership fee to register for an account with NRFA to use the website. All user fees are non-refundable unless NRFA, in its sole discretion, determines that a refund is appropriate. NRFA will offer various membership terms and set membership fees. Terms and fees may be changed by NRFA, in its sole discretion and without notice. You are responsible for paying the membership fees, and hereby authorize NRFA to charge Your credit card, debit card, or bank account, to pay for the ongoing cost of membership fees via automatic debit. You will be automatically renewed at the end of Your membership term, unless You terminate the subscription by phone or email at least seven (7) days prior to the end of Your membership term. The membership term for all renewals shall be the same as the expiring term and subject to the then current terms and conditions and membership fees. When termination is requested by You, there is no refund for any unused portion of the user fees and Your membership will remain valid through the end of Your membership term. You may not assign or transfer Your subscription to any other person or entity. Should You request a refund which is denied for a valid reason under this Agreement, and should You subsequently file a claim against NRFA, NRFA shall be entitled to collect from You all costs (including attorneys’ fees) associated with defending such a claim.

To protect against potential fraud, NRFA may take seps to verify the validity of the credit card information You provide to us. The verification process may include debiting an amount between $0.01 and $0.99 from Your credit card account and then crediting the same amount back to Your credit card or otherwise ceasing the transaction, and also may include asking You to verify the amount debited in order to confirm that You are in possession of Your credit card. NRFA will only use this process to screen for fraud and will not otherwise debit your credit card account except as part of a transaction conducted through your account. By providing NRFA with Your credit card information, You authorize NRFA to debit and credit Your credit card account for an amount less than one dollar for such verification purposes.

Interaction with Other Users

You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users. You understand that NRFA does not conduct criminal background checks on its users and does not inquire into the backgrounds of all users or attempt to verify statements made by users. NRFA makes no representations or warranties as to the conduct of users, validity of information posted by users, or their compatibility with any current or future users. NRFA reserves the right to conduct any criminal background check or other screenings, at any time and using available public records.

In no event shall NRFA be liable for any damages whatsoever, whether direct, indirect, general, special, compensatory, consequential, and/or incidental arising out of or relating to the conduct of You or anyone else in connection with the use of NRFA, including without limitation, bodily injury, emotional distress, and/or any other damages resulting from communications or meetings with other users or people You meet through this service. You agree to take reasonable precautions in all interactions with other users, particularly if you decide to meet offline or in person.

You should not provide your financial information (credit card or banking information) to other users.

Content posted by You

You are solely responsible for the Content that You publish or display (hereinafter, “pos”) on NRFA, or transmit to other users. You will not post or otherwise transmit to other users, any defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, offensive, sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, racially offensive, or illegal material, or any material that infringes or violates another party’s rights (including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights and rights of privacy and publicity). You will not provide inaccurate, misleading or false information to NRFA or to any other user. If information provided becomes inaccurate, misleading or false You will promptly notify NRFA.

You understand and agree that NRFA may review and delete any content, messages, photos or profiles (collectively, “Content”), in each case in whole or in part, that in the sole judgment of NRFA violates this Agreement or which might be offensive, illegal or that might violate the rights, harm or threaten the safety of other users.

By posing Content to any public area of the NRFA website, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to NRFA, its affiliates, licensees and successors, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, reproduce, adapt, modify and distribute such information and Content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such information and Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You further represent and warrant that public posing and use of your Content by NRFA will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.

Modifications to Service

NRFA reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the services provided with or without notice. You agree that NRFA shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the services provided.

Account Termination

NRFA reserves the right to temporarily or permanently terminate Your account in NRFA’s sole discretion at any time for any reason, including if it determines or suspects You have violated these Terms & Conditions, any laws, or the rights of our other users or other third parties, or for no reason at all. Examples of unauthorized usage include, but are not limited to, the creation of multiple accounts by the same individual or other fraudulent account activity or behavior.

Blocking of IP Addresses

In order to protect the integrity of the services provided, NRFA reserves the right at any time in its sole discretion to block users from certain IP addresses from accessing NRFA.

Disclaimer of Warranty and Liability Regarding Use of NRFA

Neither NRFA nor any of its members, managers, officers, directors, employees, agents, merchants, sponsors, licensors, component suppliers (both hardware and software), or any third party who provides products or services purchased from or distributed by NRFA, or the like, warrant that websites affiliated with NRFA, including, but not limited to, the NRFA website, will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses, worms, trojan horses, keyboard loggers, spyware, adware, malware, harmful or malicious code, or other defects. The information and services published on the NRFA website may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. NRFA makes no warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of NRFA’s services or as to the accuracy, reliability, or currency of any information content or provided through NRFA. NRFA shall not be responsible for any opinions, views, advice, or statements posed on the NRFA website (including, without limitation, in any public posting areas of the website) by any person or entity other than an authorized NRFA spokesperson. Advertisers, content providers, users, guess, independent writers, and experts are not authorized NRFA spokespersons. At no time should the opinions, views, advice, or statements provided by advertisers, content providers, users, guess, independent writers, or experts be relied upon for important personal decisions without independent verification. YOUR USE OF NRFA IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING THE SERVICE AND SOFTWARE, IS PROVIDED BY NRFA ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, NRFA DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED AND STATUTORY WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. NRFA MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF NRFA, SECURITY OF THE WEBSITE, THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF NRFA, THE AVAILABILITY OF ANY SERVICES OFFERED ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE,
INCLUDING E-MAIL, OR THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, OR MATERIALS INCLUDED ON THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NRFA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE MATERIALS ARE ACCURATE, RELIABLE OR CORRECT, THAT THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THE SITE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION, UNINTERRUPTED OR SECURE, THAT ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE MATERIALS ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. ANY SERVICE OR SOFTWARE DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE WEBSITE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OR INSTALLATION OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM THE WEBSITE OR SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS & CONDITIONS. YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT NRFA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE, SOFTWARE, OR ANY RELATED SERVICES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES, WHETHER SUCH CLAIM IS BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE, (EVEN IF NRFA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES). THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM NRFA OR THAT RESULTS FROM MISTAKES, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELETION OF FILES OR E-MAIL, ERRORS, DEFECTS, VIRUSES, OR OTHER MALICIOUS CODE, DELAYS IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, OR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, WHETHER OR NOT RESULTING FROM ACTS OF GOD, COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE, THEFT, DESTRUCTION, OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO PROVIDER RECORDS, PROGRAMS, OR SERVICES, AND WHETHER OR NOT NRFA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS LIMITATION SHALL APPLY TO ALL CONTENT AND SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH NRFA. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SHALL APPLY WHETHER THE DAMAGES ARISE FROM USE OR MISUSE OF OR RELIANCE ON NRFA SERVICES, FROM INABILITY TO USE NRFA’S SERVICES OR FROM THE INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION, OR TERMINATION OF NRFA’S SERVICES (INCLUDING SUCH DAMAGES INCURRED BY THIRD PARTIES). SOME STATES OR OTHER JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS, INCLUDING THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

NRFA is not an adoption agency and does not practice law or otherwise provide legal advice of any kind. NRFA does not participate in the adoption process in anyway. The sole purpose of NRFA is to provide a forum for prospective parents to find embryos. NRFA makes no representations as to the results that may be obtained, including, but not limited to, the successfulness of any embryo transfer or the health of any child. NRFA will not be liable for any damages arising out of or related to: (i) any embryo obtained or (iii) the transport or storage of any embryo.

If You are dissatisfied with any portion of NRFA, You should discontinue Your use of NRFA.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold NRFA and its members, managers, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, affiliates, licensors, and other partners (collectively, the “Indemnified Persons”) harmless from any loss, cos, expense, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, suffered by any Indemnified Persons due to, arising out of, or in connection with (i) Your use of NRFA or any of the services offered by NRFA, (ii) any violation of these Terms & Conditions by You or any person acting in collusion with You, (iii) any violation of applicable law or court order by You, and (iv) any negligence or willful misconduct by You.

System Outage

A system outage has occurred if system access is unavailable due to an unforeseeable disruption in a system. NRFA is not responsible for any costs incurred by You due to a system outage.

With current technology, it is not possible to develop and operate computer programs (software) and data processing systems (hardware) entirely without error, or to rule out any unpredictable events in connection with the Internet. NRFA, therefore, provides no guarantee for the constant and uninterrupted availability of the website and other technical systems. NRFA shall not be liable for any damage incurred by users or third parties from using NRFA’s services.

Trademarks

NRFA’s logos are trademarks of NRFA. All rights are reserved. Any trademarks appearing on NRFA are the property of their respective owners.

Member Disputes

You are solely responsible for your interactions with other NRFA users. NRFA reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between You and other users.
Dispute Resolution By agreeing to these Terms & Conditions, You and NRFA each waive the right to a jury trial or to participate in a class action. Further, You agree that any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action relating in any way to Your use of NRFA, including Your use prior to agreeing to these Terms & Conditions, or to any products sold by NRFA will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that You may assert claims in small claims court if Your claims qualify.

You agree that any and all claims, disputes, and causes of action between You and NRFA, including those relating to Your use of the NRFA website or these Terms & Conditions (each a “Dispute” and collectively, “Disputes”), shall be resolved as set forth in this section. Before initiating any formal Dispute resolution proceedings, You agree to negotiate with NRFA regarding any Disputes in good faith on an individual basis, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding. You may initiate these negotiations by sending a notice of the Dispute (the “Notice of Dispute”) to NRFA in a manner specified in the “Notices” section below. If NRFA and You do not reach an agreement regarding a Dispute within thirty (30) days following NRFA’s receipt of the Notice of Dispute, NRFA and You agree to submit such Dispute to binding arbitration, on an individual basis, under the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes of the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA rules”). The AAA rules are available online at adr.org. The proceedings shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, and the award shall be final and binding, may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction, and shall not be subject to appeal.

During the arbitration, the amount of any settlement offer made by NRFA or You shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator until after the arbitrator determines the amount, if any, to which You or NRFA is entitled.

NRFA will pay the arbitration fling fee for Disputes involving less than $75,000, unless the arbitrator determines the claims are frivolous. If the arbitrator finds that Your claim is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose, then the payment of all fees will be governed by the AAA rules. In such case, You agree to reimburse NRFA for all monies previously disbursed by NRFA that are otherwise Your obligation to pay under the AAA rules. In addition, if You initiate an arbitration in which you seek more than $75,000 in damages, the payment of these fees will be governed by the AAA rules. For claims totaling less than $10,000, You may choose to have the arbitration conducted by telephone, based on written submissions, or in person. Unless NRFA and You agree otherwise, any arbitration hearings will take place in the county where you live. Except as otherwise provided for herein, NRFA will pay all AAA fling, administration, and arbitrator fees for any arbitration initiated in accordance with the notice requirements above.

In the event of a finding in Your favor, NRFA agrees to pay Your attorney, if any, and reimburse any expenses, including expert witness fees and costs that Your attorney
reasonably accrues for investigating, preparing, and pursuing Your claim in arbitration. If the arbitrator issues You an award that is greater than the value of NRFA’s last written settlement offer made before an arbitrator was selected then NRFA will pay You the greater of the award or $10,000 and pay Your attorney twice the amount of attorney’s fees and reimburse any reasonable expenses incurred by Your attorney related to Your representation. This right to attorneys’ fees and expenses supplements any right to attorneys’ fees and expenses You may have under applicable law. Thus, if You would be entitled to a larger amount under applicable law, this provision does not preclude the arbitrator from awarding You that amount. However, You may not recover duplicative awards of attorneys’ fees or costs. Although under some laws NRFA may have a right to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration, NRFA agrees that it will not seek such an award.

The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party’s individual claim. You and NRFA agree that each may bring claims against the other only in Your or its individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding. Further, unless both You and NRFA agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific provision is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this arbitration provision shall be null and void.

Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, we agree that if NRFA makes any future change to this arbitration provision (other than a change to the Address provided in the “Notices” section below) You may reject any such change by sending us written notice within thirty (30) days of the change to the Address provided in the “Notices” section below. By rejecting any future change, You are agreeing that You will arbitrate any dispute between us in accordance with the language of this provision.

Applicable Law / Severability Clause

This Terms & Conditions Agreement and Your use of NRFA shall be governed by the laws of the United States of America and the State of Texas. Without in any way limiting the “Dispute Resolution” requirements set forth above, any court proceeding related to this website or these Terms & Conditions may be brought only in a federal or state court sitting in Texas. You agree to accept the jurisdiction of such courts.

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. If You open an account with NRFA while located in a prohibited jurisdiction, You will be in violation of the law and these Terms & Conditions and subject to having Your account suspended or closed permanently. You agree that NRFA cannot be held liable if laws applicable to You restrict or prohibit Your participation.

Except as provided in the Dispute Resolution section, above, if any provision of these Terms & Conditions is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable, or void, the remainder of these Terms & Conditions shall remain in force and effect and such invalid, unenforceable, or void provisions will be deemed to be modified so as to effect the original intent of these Terms & Conditions as closely as possible.

Protection of Data: Collection, Processing, and Use of our Customers’ Personal Information (this should look the same as the others)

The protection of Your data is very important to us. For more information on the collection, processing, and use of personal data, please read our Privacy Policy.

External Links

Our website may contain links to other websites operated by third parties, and these sites may likewise contain links to other websites. These links are provided strictly for Your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement or approval of these websites. We assume no liability for the content of external links. The operators of the sites linked to and from this site are solely responsible for their contents. We cannot take any responsibility for the content, protection, or privacy guidelines of third-party websites.

Waiver

Any waiver of any provision by NRFA of the Terms & Conditions or Privacy Policy will be effective only if in writing and signed by NRFA.

Notices

Except as provided otherwise in these Terms & Conditions, all notices, requests, instructions, and other communications given to NRFA by You must be given in writing by hand delivery in return for a receipt, sent certified or registered U.S. mail (return receipt requested), or sent by FedEx or a similar overnight courier service, addressed to 2560 King Arthur Blvd., Suite 124-5, Lewisville, Texas 75056.