Community Health Network Lands Embryo Adoption Program

InsideIndianaBusiness.com Report

3/30/2007 12:13:02 PM
Indianapolis-based Community Health Network has become the first national satellite location for an embryo adoption program. The program offers a new option for infertile couples and is in affiliation with the National Embryo Donation Center. Under the program, embryos left over from consenting families that have tried invitro fertilization are placed for adoption and implanted in an infertile woman. In the past, these embryos have been thrown out or donated to research.
Press ReleaseIndianapolis, IN---Community Health Network has been chosen as a national site for an embryo adoption program in affiliation with the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in Knoxville, Tennessee. This unique program offers a new option for infertile couples. Community is a national leader in the cryopreservation of eggs.In the embryo adoption process, an infertile couple receives donated embryos (fertilized eggs) from a couple who have completed their families using invitro fertilization (IVF). When couples undergo IVF, there are often leftover embryos that are frozen and stored for later use. In the past, frozen embryos have been discarded or donated to research. Women who choose embryo adoption as an answer to infertility will experience pregnancy, labor and delivery if the embryo transfer is successful. “We are honored to be chosen as a partner with the NEDC,” said Dr. Donald Cline, reproductive endocrinologist/fertility specialist with Reproductive Endocrinology Associates. “This is an exciting new option for women who wish to conceive. When the genetic parents decide their family is complete and embryos are still frozen, they usually face a moral or ethical dilemma about what to do with the leftover embryos. The embryo adoption program offers an acceptable answer to many of these couples.”“We are happy to be able to add embryo adoption to the list of advanced reproductive technologies offered in our program,” said Dr. Jeffrey Boldt, scientific and program director for Assisted Fertility Services at Community Hospital North and a longtime partner of Dr. Cline. “Our goal is to provide patients with a range of options to build their families.”The adoption process is similar to that of the traditional adoption of children. The NEDC undertakes an extensive screening of potential couples wanting to donate their embryos, including the medical, legal and social requirements of embryo donation. Recipient couples also undergo extensive screening. Surveys estimate that only 9,000 of the 400,000 embryos currently in cryopreservation (freezing) in the U.S. are available for adoption to another couple. Since most of those embryos will likely not be transferred to the genetic mother, they are either stored for an indefinite period of time, or thawed and discarded. The pregnancy rate is approximately 40-percent per embryo transfer.For more information on embryo adoption, visit www.reproductivehope.com or www.eCommunity.com. The Web site for the National Embryo Donation Center is www.embryodonation.org. The NEDC is a non-profit organization endorsed by the Christian Medical Association.