Embryo Donation and Adoption

HRC was approached by an adoption agency known as Christian Adoption & Family Services (CAFS, who despite their name are non-partisan in the placement of embryos). This adoption agency has established a novel concept of embryo adoption known as their Snowflakes program.

Embryo adoption is a somewhat different concept than embryo donation. With embryo adoption the agency actually matches the genetic parents of the embryos with the adopting couple into whom the embryos will be transferred. Traditionally, when couples decide to donate their embryos to another couple, they usually entrust the doctor to select the couple to whom the embryos will be donated.

The Snowflakes embryo adoption program was established to assist couples who have completed their family or those who have decided that embryo implantation is no longer in their plans, but who still have frozen embryos. Couples are often confronted with an extremely difficult decision regarding the dispensation of their embryos that remain frozen. Many couples wish to give their embryos a chance to be born but they also want some control over their destiny; that is where the "Snowflakes" program comes in. Couples can have the choice of participating in the selection of the adopting parents from among families that have completed a home study with a licensed adoption agency.

Although the legal framework for embryo adoption has not yet been established in most states, genetic and adopting parents can have the security of knowing that they are giving embryos the same safeguards and future opportunities as any child being placed in a more traditional adoption.