"To my knowledge, no one in the United States has ever done that," he says. "We're all paranoid that a couple will show up the next day and say they want their embryos."
The federal government supports, via funding, only one option: adoption to another couple for pregnancy. In a highly publicized event at the White House in May 2005, President Bush posed for pictures with children born from adopted embryos -- sometimes called "snowflake adoptions," referring to the fact that the embryos are frozen and unique. And the Department of Health and Human Services funded a three-day conference in May to promote this alternative.
About 1,000 babies have been born in the U.S. from embryo adoption since it became available 10 years ago, said Ron Stoddart, who founded the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program, based in Fullerton.
However, research by Anne Drapkin Lyerly, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University, as well as other surveys, have found that most families prefer not to donate embryos for adoption. In a paper published last year, of 1,020 couples with frozen embryos, 22% said they were somewhat or very likely to donate to another couple. Slightly more said they would probably thaw and discard them. Almost half said they would donate them to science, including for use in stem cell research.
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Donating to research appears to represent to many couples a kind of peaceful middle ground.
Human embryos are the primary source of stem cells, and the uptick in stem cell research has fostered a growing demand for donated embryos. Although such research destroys the embryos, the broader effort is aimed at curing disease. This goal resonates with couples who have endured reproductive health problems, says Lee Rubin Collins, co-chairwoman of Resolve's national advocacy committee. "Reproductive medicine is about creating life, not ending it," she says.
Angela and Dave Casella tried for three years to have a baby. Using in vitro fertilization, Angela Casella became pregnant with twins on two occasions but miscarried both times. Devastated, the Huntington Beach couple took a year to grieve and think about their options. They decided to adopt a child but still had to contend with a single embryo left in cryopreservation.
They chose to donate it to research.
