Dr. Rebecca Westbrook struggled with infertility issues and tried three fertility doctors before having her first daughter in 2014.
Shortly after her daughter’s birth, Rebecca and her husband tried IVF again and got two embryos that were poor quality and didn’t produce children.
That’s when Rebecca turned to embryo adoption. After being gifted twelve embryos, Rebecca was successful and had two daughters.
Left with nine embryos, Rebecca didn’t want to destroy them and found it hard to find an adoptive couple for their remaining ones. That’s when she came up with the idea for the Embryo Adoption Project.
With one in eight couples suffering from infertility issues, Dr. Westbrook understood the need to launch the project to educate couples about the process and provide a safe and secure environment for donor families and adoptive couples.
“One of the advantages of embryo adoption is that it is eighty-six percent less expensive than a traditional adoption agency and eighty percent less expensive than one cycle of IVF treatments,” says Dr. Westbrook.
The Embryo Adoption Project is the first of its kind in Dallas. It gives couples that have finished IVF and have remaining embryos the opportunity to connect with adoptive couples using a website similar to a dating website. Donor and adoptive couples fill out a profile and then are connected through an internal email system.
Once a donor and adoptive couple agree on adoption, they move off the site to continue the adoption process with a private attorney. “The process is easy and very rewarding,” says Dr. Westbrook.
So how does the cost of embryo adoption through the Embryo Adoption Project compare to other options? Most couples will spend between $20,000-$60,000 for IVF treatments, foreign adoptions, or traditional adoptions.
Embryo adoption through an agency can cost between $16,500 and $19,500, however, through the Embryo Adoption Project, couples can expect to spend $4,000-$7,500. The price includes a twelve-month website membership, lawyer fees, moving the frozen embryos to a fertility facility (if needed), and transferring the embryos by a fertility doctor.
“After becoming pregnant, I loved being able to see my baby’s heartbeat on ultrasound and feel her kicking as she grew,” said Dr. Westbrook. “My husband was able to be at the birth and hold her and hear her first cries. We would never have had these opportunities if we had not adopted embryos.”
For more information on the Embryo Adoption Project, visit www.embryoadoptionproject.com.
