By Mary Faulds, AFA Journal staff writer
February 2010 – In early March 2009, President Barack Obama lifted the strict limitations on embryonic stem cell research that the Bush administration had imposed. The federal government then officially began funding new human embryonic stem cell research in December, when the National Institutes of Health declared that 13 human stem cell lines met NIH ethics guidelines released in July.
One of those guidelines is that those stem cell lines must come from excess embryos at in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics to be eligible for use in federal research. The genetic parents must give signed consent and be informed that the embryos would be used for research.
It is estimated that 500,000 human embryos are currently in cryopreservation in the United States. When a couple who used in vitro fertilization decides that their family is complete and embryos are still available, they are faced with a dilemma. What should be done with those remaining embryos?
In years past, the only well-known options were donation to research, or thawing them and letting them die. However, for those parents who truly see the embryos as siblings to their children, those are unsavory choices. A third alternative would be to keep the embryos frozen indefinitely, but that can become a costly endeavor, and embryos cannot survive frozen forever.
There is a fourth option, a life-affirming one, which is gaining ground. A couple can now donate their remaining embryos to an infertile couple who cannot conceive their own embryos.
The National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the lives and dignity of human embryos by education and by promoting and facilitating embryo donation and adoption. The Center is located in Knoxville, Tennessee, and is led by medical director and fertility specialist Jeffrey A. Keenan, M.D.
An embryo donation center was originally the idea of Dr. David Stevens, chief executive officer of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA).
“Dave Stevens realized that there were a lot of embryos without a home and were in a liquid nitrogen limbo,” said Keenan. “I had done some of this in my practice and decided it was a feasible idea. It took a couple, three years to put all the pieces together.”
The NEDC was formed through a collaborative effort between Keenan’s practice at Southeastern Fertility Center, the CMDA, Bethany Christian Services (an adoption agency) and Baptist Hospital of East Tennessee.
Federal grants in 2003 helped put the final pieces into place. Keenan said they were busy right from the start and continue to grow, partially through grants specifically for education and promotion of embryo adoption.
“We have been measuring response on the topic,” Kennan said, “and I think we are just approaching a critical mass where people out on the street are starting to hear about the NEDC. It is really starting to take off. It is almost to the point where it is mainstream.”
Keenan explained that the donation process is a fairly simple one. “You will be asked to fill out an application, provide some medical and genetic history, and have some minimal testing,” he said. “During the process, you may even decide which family will be privileged to adopt your embryos. You may also decide what degree of contact, if any, you wish to have with the adopting family. During this same time period, you will be instructed to contact and inform the clinic where your frozen embryos are stored that you are donating your embryos to another infertile couple through the NEDC.”
Saving a life
Often the word “adoption” is used to describe the embryo donation, but Keenan said it isn’t entirely accurate. “Based on current law, adoption only refers to the placement of a child after birth,” he explained. “Therefore, instead of using adoption laws, legal agreements are used to govern the process of embryo adoption. But the relationship with the child is just as binding as an adoption. In addition, with embryo adoption, the adopting parents will be the parents cited on the birth certificate.”
The donating parents incur no cost throughout the process, and they are also not paid. The adopting parents must go through a screening for infectious diseases, general and reproductive health, and their ability to successfully parent children. The NEDC works with Bethany Christian Services to ensure appropriate screening and to assist the donating parents as they choose an adopting couple.
Keenan said sometimes couples have a hard time deciding to donate their embryos because of the emotional attachment, even though they are sure they will not be using them. He said he counsels those couples that not making a decision is much the same as making a decision to destroy the embryos.
“Frozen embryos have a limited life span in storage. They will eventually die. Although you may be struggling with the idea of donating your embryos to another couple, your decision to help others have children is the most caring and compassionate option to choose.”
Wonderful option
It was a compassionate couple who donated to Marti and Brian Bailey of Knoxville, Tennessee. The college sweethearts wed because of a mutual desire for a large family. In 2001, they began trying for that basketball team Brian wanted. They were excited to hear after a few months that Marti might be pregnant. However, an ultrasound revealed an empty uterus.
Problems weren’t entirely unexpected. Marti had been born prematurely and had to have a large section of her small intestine removed after birth. The scan also showed that there was a lot of scar tissue in Marti’s fallopian tubes, so ectopic pregnancy was a danger. Marti had to have both tubes removed surgically in 2002, rendering her unable to conceive naturally. However, Dr. Keenan, who was her surgeon, said IVF should work for them.
According to the CDC, an average of about 31% of frozen embryos successfully implant after transfer. This statistic is from a collection of data from all reporting assisted reproductive technology clinics nationwide. The NEDC’s overall pregnancy rate per transfer is 48%.
For the next several years, it was a cycle of shots, harvesting eggs and transfers of embryos into Marti. Each time was a disappointing loss. Soon the couple began looking into traditional adoption. However, it was during that time that Marti began working for the NEDC as a public relations manager.
“I went around and educated people about embryo donation and adoption all across the United States,” she said. “I was feeling more and more led that this is what God wanted us to do. This is what I wanted to do, I was going around speaking about it, I felt really convinced that this was a wonderful option.”
Brian wasn’t entirely convinced, but after speaking with Dr. Keenan, he supported Marti and took the leap of faith to adopt embryos. And a big leap it was.
“We had already made a commitment with Bethany Christian Services that we were going to adopt,” said Marti. “At the time, it’s not this way now, but at the time you could not be on the traditional adoption list and go through with embryo adoption, so when we went with Dr. Keenan, they pulled us from the list.”
It was May 2007 when Marti got her transfer of donated embryos. She was so excited that, against the center’s recommendations, she took a home pregnancy test. It was positive. A few days later it was confirmed by a blood test. But heartache struck again. Marti lost the baby in June.
The Baileys questioned whether embryo donation was the way to go to build their family, but it was a phone call in August that changed everything. Carol Sommerfelt, the embryologist at the NEDC, called on Marti’s birthday.
“She said, ‘I have the best birthday present for you,’” said Marti. “’We just got in 25 embryos.’ She knew we wanted a large family. You can’t always get that with embryo donation. Usually it’s not that many. A donation of 25 embryos was unheard of.”
Marti said it was still a hard decision to go ahead with the transfer, but at the last minute they signed the papers and took custody of the embryos. This time the pregnancy took and their excitement was doubled when they discovered twins were on the way.
The excitement didn’t stop there. Marti endured severe back pain, a weak cervix that had to be stitched closed to keep the babies inside, and toxemia before Julian Keene and Natalie Faith were born April 4, 2008, at 30 weeks gestation.
Marti had to recover from the emergency caesarean section and a nicked bladder, but it was six weeks before the babies came home. It was after the twins’ birth that the Baileys contacted the donating family, who had desired an open adoption.
Marti said that she cannot carry any more children after her difficult pregnancy, and the remaining embryos will once again be up for adoption. Regardless of the difficulty, Marti said embryo adoption is a wonderful blessing.
“I would beg any couple that may be considering donating their embryos to research to give them a chance at life. Even if you are not religious, think about the work it took to get those embryos, and think about those couples desperate for a child. It gives everyone a chance to have a family.” 
National Embryo Donation Center
• Toll free: 866-585-8549 (Please leave a message. All calls will be returned.)
• www.embryodonation.org
