The EAA program currently funds three projects to help increase awareness and facilitate the process of embryo adoption/donation.
Empower Donation, LLC
Annual Funding: $275,000
Contact Information: Maya Grobel
Project Overview: Empower Donation will implement the Empowering Choice in Embryo Donation project to improve upon and expand services that increase awareness of embryo donation among IVF patients storing cryo-preserved embryos. Empowering Choice will support decision-making about disposition through personalized educational materials and provide assistance to patients (potential donors and recipients) and clinics in addressing the matching, logistical, and medical hurdles that accompany this family-building option. The project will address a national need to make embryo donation more inclusive and accessible. Empower Donation will employ mental health counseling, genetic counseling, education, and media production to create and implement a comprehensive educational program for clinic staff and patients. The project aims to increase the number of patients choosing to donate their embryos for family building, increase the number of clinics willing to provide embryo donation and open donation services, with the intention of normalizing this family-building method so that it is more understood and accessible for all stakeholders through the use of webinars, trainings, and other educational materials.
National Registry for Adoption
Annual Funding: $255,000
Contact Information: K. Duffy Johnson
Project Overview: The National Registry for Adoption will offer a multi-channel digital marketing public awareness campaign to educate potential embryo donors/recipients about embryo donation/adoption and help increase access to these services by providing free counseling and affordable matching and legal support services. The project proposes to reach prospective embryo donors and recipients through a digital public awareness campaign using email and social media platforms and provide online counseling sessions with a counselor who has personal embryo adoption/donation experience. The project will also provide assistance to legal counsel in the preparation and timely execution of contracts between embryo donors and recipients.
Nightlight Christian Adoptions
Annual Funding: $255,000
Contact Information: Kimberly Tyson
Project Overview: Nightlight Christian Adoptions has an existing program called Snowflakes, named because, like a snowflake, each cryo-preserved embryo is frozen and unique. This new project aims to increase participation in both embryo donation and embryo adoption services. Families with remaining embryos and families interested in receiving donated embryos are often unfamiliar with this family-building option. Before Snowflakes, the only choice available to families was to anonymously donate or receive embryos through a fertility clinic. Potential donors are attracted to the idea of selecting a family for their remaining embryos through an adoption-modeled program. This project will deliver educational counseling to inquirers and participants, educate medical professionals to encourage discussions with patients, and endeavor to shorten the timeline for family completion of the donation or adoption process.