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Creating Families with Third-Party Options
By Wendy Somers The dream to have a child is one most of us take for granted. As human beings it is our right to procreate. We assume, often falsely, that when we are ready to have a child, one will quickly come along the "natural" way. Reality strikes hard for those of us in the infertile world. Making a baby is not always such an easy, fun experience. In fact, for some infertile couples, the creation of a family is not possible without the help of another person. There is hope! Success rates for in-vitro fertilization have improved dramatically. There are also many new viable third party pregnancy options such as utilization of donated eggs or sperm, surrogate parenting, or "adopting" the embryos of another infertile couple. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 8-10% of couples experience some form of infertility. Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive or bring a pregnancy to term after a year or more of regular, unprotected intercourse. The Center for Disease Control estimates that there are 6.1 million infertile couples in the United States alone. Female issues, many of them ovulatory, cause over 30-40% of infertility problems. Many women are unaware that egg viability drops dramatically with age. Therefore, they may wait to attempt a pregnancy until it is too late. Women in this category are considered perimenopausal. They have regular periods and ovulate but the quality of ovulation is very poor. Infertility clinics are reporting a dramatic increase of almost 50% in the number of patients who are utilizing an egg donor to achieve a pregnancy. In-vitro success rates when using an egg donor are often as high as 50% to 65%. In response to this need, a number of egg donation centers, including our own, have created extensive online databases of egg donors to meet the demand for a more diverse pool of egg donors. These egg donation centers offer a large number of candidates from which a family can choose. Many banks, such as Creating Families, offer varying degrees of open to closed relationships with the egg donor. Families can see pictures and receive detailed profiles about the donor. In the past, physicians often selected the donor and the family had little, if any, information about the donor's background. However, the use of an egg or sperm donor presents special issues and concerns. The family must carefully consider their feelings about raising a child who is not biologically connected to his or her mother or father. Some women and men experience further grief and loss when faced with the necessity of using an egg or sperm donor to have a baby. They must ponder whether or not they will tell their child about the egg donor or sperm donor or maintain a family secret. If they have an anonymous relationship with the egg or sperm donor, the family may not receive all the information necessary to make informed decisions for their child should a medical emergency arise in the future. They may not have the option of contacting this individual for further information. Careful evaluation and discussion of the complex emotional issues involved in any form of third party reproduction is crucial before a family should proceed forward. As controversial as surrogate parenting may seem to the general public, it is not a new concept. Rather, surrogacy dates back to biblical times as one of the first forms of third-party reproduction. Surrogate parenting presents exciting options to those families who are left with little other option for creating their own, or partially their own, biological child. Options in surrogate parenting have changed and expanded with the advent of new medical procedures. Surrogacy is becoming more socially acceptable and the option of choice for more families every year. Many of the families who do choose to utilize surrogate parenting are veterans of many years of unsuccessful advanced reproductive techniques. They have experienced repeated miscarriages, unsuccessful in-vitro procedures, a hysterectomy or a failed adoption. The vast majority of couples who consider surrogacy do so because of infertility or other medical reasons. However, there are families who are not infertile who choose the surrogate parenting option. Their situation is unique and often controversial. They may be a gay couple who would very much like to parent a child who reflects the biological parentage of at least one partner. Adoption is often difficult and challenging for a couple of homosexual orientation. Single men may choose to utilize the option of surrogate parenting because they have not found the right partner and no longer want to wait to parent a child. In gestational surrogacy, also known as IVF surrogacy or gestational carrier, the male and female partner creates an embryo, which is transferred to the womb of the surrogate mother for gestation. The surrogate mother is not genetically related to the child. The family has the opportunity to parent a child who is entirely their genetic offspring. Surrogate parenting, an emotionally volatile issue, will always be controversial. There are many staunch supporters of surrogate parenting, and equally as many vocal critics. Critics feel that it is "baby-selling" and exploitive of women who are surrogates. They feel that infertile couples should accept their infertility and utilize more conventional avenues. Families need to consider how they will address the issue of surrogacy with their child and how to deal with the fact that their family was created in an unconventional fashion. They should also think about how they will address potential societal pressures and opinions. Embryo adoption involves the donation of embryos by a family who has successfully completed in-vitro fertilization. These donated embryos are transferred to the womb of the "adopting" family to create a family. This novel concept provides a positive solution for the thousands of embryos waiting in cryo storage. Infertility is a painful reality for a significant portion of our society. However, advances in the area of in-vitro fertilization and third-party reproduction may provide new positive choices and hope for families who seek to create a family. Creating
Families, A Center for Surrogacy and Egg Donation, Inc. was
incorporated in 1994 to provide comprehensive services in the area of
surrogate parenting and egg donation. Their sister corporation, Innovative
Adoptions, Inc., a progressive, licensed adoption agency, has located
hundreds of adoptive families over the past ten years. |
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