Growing Families is a non-profit organization that provides support to people who are struggling with infertility. We provide egg donation, embryo shipping, and surrogacy to Australian families. If you're an intended parent who wants to have a child and you're unable to conceive, our Growing Families Organization in Australia can help you.

1. What Is Embryo Adoption?
Adoption has always been a viable option for optimistic parents
looking to expand their families and experience all of the joys of
parenthood. The newest kind of adoption now allows adoptive
parents to experience the joys and trials of pregnancy and childbirth,
thanks to improvements in reproductive health and technology.
Embryo adoption is a type of adoption in which the adoptive mother
is allowed to bear and deliver her genetically unrelated child. Rather
than adopting an already-born child, adoptive parents start the
process nine months ahead of time by adopting a frozen embryo
donated by a couple who has undergone in vitro fertilization.
This new type of adoption offers potential adoptive parents another
choice to consider, with its own set of protocols, perks, and obstacles.
This page explains what frozen embryo adoption is, how it works, who
it benefits, and what couples and individuals should think about if they
want to adopt an embryo.
HOW DOES THE EMBRYO ADOPTION PROCESS WORK?
The process of legally transferring parental rights and obligations
from one parent to the other is known as adoption. The same holds
true for embryo adoption, with a few notable exceptions. The
following explanation provides a basic overview of the embryo
adoption procedure as well as some major distinctions between
embryo and baby adoption.

2. Adopting an Embryo: A Step-by-Step Guide
Depending on the agency embryo donors and adoptive parents
choose to partner with, the embryo adoption process may differ
slightly. All embryo adoptions will, in general, comprise the following
steps:
Embryo Donation — When a couple decides to donate viable,
healthy embryos to another couple or individual who is struggling to
have a family on their own, the embryo adoption process begins.
Embryo donors are parents who have undergone in vitro fertilization
(IVF) to complete their families and have unused, frozen embryos left
over. These embryos could be frozen in storage, discarded, donated
for scientific research, or adopted by another person or couple.
Those who decide on embryo donation are subsequently paired with
adoptive parents through a fertility clinic or an embryo adoption
agency, or they can pursue an independent adoption with parents
they’ve already selected. Embryo donors can also choose to donate
anonymously, which means they are not involved in selecting the
adoptive family with whom they are paired and do not meet or
exchange identifying information with them.
Choosing an Agency — Adoptive parents will submit an application to
work for the embryo adoption organization. These organizations help
families donate and adopt embryos by coordinating legal, medical,
matching, and counseling services, as well as mediating contact
between the donating and adopting families.

3. Agency Selection: The embryo adoption procedure, pricing,
eligibility restrictions, available services, and more are all influenced
by the agency a family chooses to partner with. Adoptive families
should conduct thorough research before selecting an embryo
adoption agency that will best fulfill their needs.
Home Study: Adoptive parents will need to complete an adoptive
home study, which examines their family’s fitness to raise an adopted
child and helps give additional knowledge about parenting adopted
children, just like in any other adoption.
Matching: Prospective parents will be requested to enter
information about themselves and the sorts of donated families they
are interested in when they are ready to begin the adoption process.
Donors will also supply personal information, such as their medical
history and the types of adoptive homes they choose for their
embryos. Parents may consider age, race, income, religion, existing
children, and a desire for future contact when choosing the types of
families with whom they’d like to be matched. Families who meet
each other’s requirements will receive profiles from matching
donor/adopting families from which to pick. If the families choose
each other and agree to the match, they will proceed jointly through
the process.
Legal Contracts: To transfer custody of the embryos, the adopting
and donor parents will sign legal contracts. Prior to the embryo
transfer, the donating parents will waive all rights to the embryos, and
the contracts will give the adoptive parents entire control over the
pregnancy and parental rights once the kid is born.

4. Embryo Transfer: Medical procedures can commence when
contracts are signed. Fertility treatments will most likely be given to
the adoptive mother in preparation for the frozen embryo transfer
(FET), which is a technique comparable to IVF.
A pregnancy will hopefully be confirmed after the embryos are
transferred, and the adoptive mother will begin getting prenatal care
as she would for any other pregnancy. It usually takes at least a year
to complete the embryo adoption process. The actual amount of time
depends on a number of things, including the adoption agency the
family chooses to work with, the donor parent conditions they specify,
the quality of embryos they require, and so on. Families interested in
embryo adoption should contact various embryo adoption agencies
and fertility clinics to find out more about expected wait times for
their individual situations. Embryo adoption, like newborn adoption,
does not end with the baby’s placement or birth.
INFANT ADOPTION VS. EMBRYO ADOPTION
While embryo adoption follows many of the same stages as baby
adoption, such as the matching process and adoption home study,
there are significant distinctions that adoptive parents should
consider when determining which type of adoption is best for them.
The pregnant experience is the most significant distinction between
adopting an embryo and adopting an infant. Embryo adoption allows
parents to carry and deliver their kids themselves, whereas typical
domestic infant adoption relies on the birth mother to carry and
deliver the baby before relinquishing her parental rights.

5. Adoptive parents typically feel more in control of embryo adoption
because the adoptive mother carries the child herself. The peace of
mind that comes with knowing that your child received excellent
prenatal care is one of the advantages of this type of adoption.
Furthermore, prior to delivery, adopting parents have legal rights to
and responsibility for the embryos, removing the possibility that the
birth mother will change her mind and wish to parent her child. While
there are some clear benefits to embryo adoption, there are also
certain drawbacks that adoptive parents should be aware of. There is
no certainty that frozen embryo adoption will result in a live delivery
— in fact, a frozen embryo adoption has only a 35% chance of success.
This may necessitate adoptive parents attempting embryo adoption
multiple times, sometimes with various embryo donors.
Multiple matches and efforts may incur additional fees, depending on
the agency with which the adoptive family is dealing. In addition,
embryo adoption requires the adoptive mother to undergo medical
procedures and reproductive treatments. After numerous
unsuccessful attempts at various types of fertility treatments, many
parents consider adoption as an alternative to these procedures.
These are only a few of the advantages and disadvantages of embryo
adoption as a comparison to baby adoption. When deciding to adopt,
it is up to each individual to determine what is best for them and their
family.
WHAT IS THE COST OF EMBRYO ADOPTION?
There are numerous alternatives available to prospective parents who
want to start a family. One of the most important factors for these

6. parents when deciding on a path to motherhood is the expense. The
cost of embryo adoption varies substantially depending on the
circumstances of the adoptive family and the organization with whom
they deal. Embryo adoption costs between $10,000 and $15,000 on
average. This covers all adoption-related expenses, including:
• Agency fees
• Legal fees
• Embryo shipping
• Matching services
• Medical screening
• Counselling
• Home study fees
• Frozen embryo transfer
Because birth parents’ living expenditures and travel costs are not
included in embryo adoption, it is often less expensive than
international adoption and domestic baby adoption. However, if
repeated treatments are required, these costs might soon rise. Contact
the embryo adoption agencies you’re contemplating working with to
discuss your personal wants and circumstances in order to acquire a
more accurate estimate of the prices for your embryo adoption.