Today’s guest blogger is a good friend of mine! After my first failed IVF cycle, Summer messaged me and offered me her remaining embryos. We decide we wanted to try IVF a few more times but I will forever be grateful for the gift she offered us and will never forget it. How sweet is that? I love her! Meet Summer…
Hi! I’m Summer! Mother to twins and a “big kid” 4 year old. I want to share a little bit about our TTC journey and where it has led us today!
Our first was conceived fairly easily through IUI, but when we started trying for another baby it was anything but easy. Three failed IUIS and we decided IVF was the choice for us. Retrieval was a success and we got twelve beautiful embryos to freeze. After a few cancelled transfers happening for one reason or another, we finally got to transfer day! BFP! Fast forward to 5.5 weeks pregnant and seeing two flickering heartbeats, we knew two things: These babies are such huge blessings BUT these are our last babies I’ll carry. This left us with ten frozen embryos and a choice.
The options presented to us were to just keep them frozen indefinitely, thaw and discard them (NOT an option!), or donate them to a couple who were looking for embryos to grow their family. To me, there was no choice. Embryo adoption is one of the most beautiful and incredible things I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of and I’m thankful for it every day.
There are many ways to find embryos. Agencies, websites, Facebook groups, but for me it was good ol’ social media. Scrolling through Instagram, I saw a post from a girl I’d followed for a while and she was announcing that they were looking to adopt embryos! I messaged her and after a few days of talking it was decided! We donated six of our remaining embryos to them. Such an amazing couple who I’ve now grown to love like extended family. They have a beautiful son now, and I couldn’t be happier with how embryo donation turned out for me. I’m often asked if its hard for me to see him, but its 100% not. He was meant for them! We created these embryos to give them a chance at life, every single one of them. As a mother, and as someone who viewed all of those embryos as my potential children, I put them first and I’m thankful every day for that choice!
I wish that more people knew that embryo adoption exists and what a beautiful gift it can be. Not only for the family receiving, but also for our family giving. Our recipients allowed us to feel totally comfortable that these little embies would be loved in ways we just can’t! If you are at the end of your IVF journey, and still have frosties waiting for life, I encourage you to open yourself up to the possibility of donating them. You can do so anonymously or have an open relationship, whatever is best for everyone! If you are looking for embryos, thank you. You’re giving a family the chance to come full circle, to end a chapter of their life while helping to build yours.
Want to contact Summer? Instagram: @grrlgangaz
You can read more infertility stories or connect with others here. You can connect with me (Brianna) at AdventuresofaTwinMom@gmail.com or on Instagram.
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