A New Chapter Begins. . . and Hope is Renewed!

DAN AND ELIZABETH ARE ADOPTING!!!


Five and a half years ago we decided it was time to expand our family by adding kids. Little did we know the adversity we would face in trying to make this wish a reality. A few years ago, after unsuccessful fertility treatments and one miraculous pregnancy that ended in miscarriage, we began contemplating adoption options. It was difficult to come to grips with our infertility and difficult to face the many decisions that must be made when you decide to pursue adoption; but we have grown closer as a couple because of our trials and we are SO excited about the opportunity to become parents through embryonic donation/adoption!





Many of you may not be familiar with embryonic donation/adoption. A simplified explanation is that we will adopt another couple's leftover embryos from when they did IVF, have them transferred to me, and then I will carry and give birth to the embryo(s). Legally, embryo adoption is not adoption, it is a transfer of private property (embryos) from one family to another. The "adoption" becomes final before the embryos are transferred to us.

We decided to pursue embryonic donation/adoption for several reasons: the timeline from application to embryo transfer is typically 6-9 months which is a very short time frame in the adoption world, we would get to experience pregnancy and birth, we would have more control over the health of our baby's pregnancy, the cost is relatively low as far as adoptions are concerned (ours will be around $12,000), the "adoption" is finalized early in the process so there is no risk of the genetic family taking the embryos or babies back, and lastly this method of adoption is in line with our firm belief that life begins at conception and that embryos are people who deserve a chance at life.



There are many means by which a couple can "adopt" embryos. It was difficult for us to weigh our options but after much research and consideration we have opted to go with the National Embryo Donation Center in Knoxville, TN and have our home study completed with Bethany Christian Services which is based in La Mirada, CA. While legally it is not necessary for us to complete a home study to adopt embryos many genetic donor families feel more comfortable donating their embryos to a family that has had background checks done, etc. Also, if our embryo adoption journey does not result in a child we can more easily transfer to a traditional domestic or international adoption with Bethany Christian Services.

On July 29, 2009 we submitted our preliminary application to the NEDC and officially began our adoption journey. Over the past two weeks we have been filling out more applications, tracking down important documents, writing our "Dear Donor Family" letter, working out a financial plan, and corresponding with our two agencies. Currently we have been given the green light by both the NEDC and Bethany to begin our home study which means tons more paperwork! We will be keeping an adoption timeline on our blog so that you can track our progress, celebrate our successes, and pray for us in our setbacks. In an effort to stay organized I have begun to file everything in our adoption paperwork binder. I am determined to get as much of our home study finished before school begins on September 10th as possible. In addition to working on our home study we will be flying back to Tennessee to meet with our NEDC fertility doctor who will do our transfer. (Yes you heard right- we will be doing the transfer in Tennessee and that is a whole different story!) We have to finish our home study before this visit takes place so it won't happen for several months.

We want to thank our family and friends who have walked with us through our struggle with infertility. We are so incredibly blessed to have a great support system of people who pray for us, love on us, and talk with us. Please continue to pray for us and our future children! Who knows but almighty God the twists and turns this journey will bring.