What to Do with the Unchosen Frozen

Potential Blessings & Pitfalls of Embryo Adoption

The U.S. has a problem with frozen embryos, and no one has a good answer as to what to do with them. The exact number is difficult to determine, but extrapolation from past studies indicates there are likely well over one million embryos being kept in storage, and that number is continually increasing.

Proposed Solutions

When couples (or an individual) choose to make use of IVF, they usually end up with far more embryos than can or should be transferred. These “excess” embryos are typically frozen for future use. There are numerous options for dealing with these frozen embryos, but none of them are particularly good. The best solution would be for the parents to attempt transfer, but most...