After trying nearly everything under the sun, you’ve arrived at the decision to utilize anonymous donated embryos with the goal of experiencing a pregnancy and all that comes with it. At The Fertility Center (TFC), we are here for you. After reviewing the below information about what is involved with this process, please do not hesitate to contact our donor coordinators with any additional questions or concerns you may have. They can be reached directly at 616-988-4602.

Physician Appointment

The first step in this process is to meet with one of our TFC physicians to determine whether or not becoming a donor embryo recipient is right for you. If you are new to TFC, you would need to schedule a new patient appointment where we do request a copy of your current medical history from your physician’s office. If you are an existing patient and have yet to review this option with your TFC physician, please schedule a follow up consultation to discuss this process in more detail before proceeding. 

Deposit

Following your appointment with the physician, once you are sure that you want to use donor embryos, your next step is to contact our billing department (616-988-2229 ext. 102) to place a deposit for this program. Once your deposit has been paid, the billing department will contact the donor coordinators to schedule your nurse consultation appointment.

Counseling

There are many emotional and psychological impacts that the use of third party reproduction to achieve a pregnancy may have on you, your relationships, and even your future child(ren). For that reason, it is required that all patients utilizing any of our donor programs meet with our fertility counselor. Our counseling services are always free of charge, this appointment is no different. If you have a partner, they are also required to be present for the appointment. This appointment is only available at our Grand Rapids, Michigan office.

Nurse Consultation

After your deposit is paid, a nurse consultation is required to review the medical aspects of the program, required testing, embryo selection, and consents with you.  If you have a partner, they are also required to attend this appointment. The cost of the nurse consult is covered by your deposit. This appointment is only available at our Grand Rapids, Michigan office. In an attempt to limit the amount of visits you need to make to our office, we do try our best to schedule this consultation to coincide with your counseling visit.

Embryo Donor Screening

Former TFC patients contact us to inquire about the possibility of donating their remaining embryos to an anonymous couple. Following an extensive screening process (both physically and emotionally), it is determined if they are eligible to donate based on their medical history, the number of embryos they have remaining, pregnancy outcomes, etc. Once they are approved and have signed their consents to donate their embryos, we will make the embryos “available” in our online database. We require all recipients to live at least 30 miles apart from the donating couple. 

Selecting Donor Embryos

Once your testing has been completed, the donor coordinators will give you the link and a password to our ‘Donor Database’. This allows you to be able to view the available sets of donated embryos. You will see how many embryos are in each set and all of the details we are able to share on this website/database. There are new sets of embryos added from time to time so you will want to log in approximately every other week to view any new profiles. The amount of time that it takes to select a set of embryos is completely up to you. Once you have a set of embryos you’d like to move forward with, you will “select” the set and it automatically sends us an email and removes that donor embryo set out of the database. We will then contact you to coordinate the timing of the procedure. We will need to know the date of your last menstrual period (LMP). We then notify the billing department that you have selected a set of embryos to reserve for your use and your storage fees will begin quarterly on this date.

Donor Embryo Transfer Cycle

Most embryo recipient medication protocols involve Lupron injections as well as estrace pills by mouth. Closer to procedure time, you will also take an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory medication, valium, and progesterone (either by intramuscular injection or vaginal suppository). This will all be reviewed in great detail closer to your procedure date.

Legal Issues

There are currently no laws relating to donor embryo transfer at this time and we cannot predict what will occur in the future. Legal counsel may relieve any concerns you have in this matter. In Michigan, current laws state that the female delivering a baby is the legal mother and her husband is the legal father.

Additional Information

If you have additional questions about donor selection or the medical aspects of using donor embryos, please do not hesitate to contact our donor coordinators at 616-988-4602. If you have any billing questions or concerns, please contact Amy at 616-988-2229, ext. 130.