The Dilemma of One Remaining Embryo
In a time where PGT-A testing has become almost the standard and having multiple chances at pregnancy if often desired, many donors and recipients wonder about how to consider a single remaining embryo.
Having one chance at a successful embryo transfer can feel daunting, or exciting, and perhaps a lot of things in between. Much depends on how one perceives the situation and what rises to the top when it comes to a particular embryo or the embryo donors.
We have some embryo donors come to our matching platform, Moxi Matching, with one remaining embryo because they hope that embryo can create or grow a family for someone and they may be looking for closure to their own fertility journey. Perhaps it only took one embryo transfer for them to achieve pregnancy and they know that one embryo can create one healthy baby. These donors also may have been told their single embryo doesn’t qualify for a particular program policy. Policies like this often exist because of the effort involved in embryo donation and the interest in giving a recipient more than one opportunity. At EM•POWER, we believe your embryos, your family, your choice, and we do invite donors with one embryo onto the platform, as well as recipients who are open to matching with someone with a single embryo. But we wanted to highlight some of the considerations for both donors and recipients about a single remaining embryo.
One embryo can create one baby.
One embryo can (most likely) only create one baby, so wanting a larger family size would not be an option.
Embryo quality matters, and most doctors would agree that in this case, a PGT-A tested embryo may increase the chances of success, however, untested single embryos also can make a healthy baby (read on for more on that!).
It may take longer to find a match if a donor has one remaining embryo, as not every frozen embryo transfer is successful and recipients often would like multiple chances.
Having one embryo may feel like a lot of emotional, logistical and financial effort for one chance. Having one chance can be an opportunity, even if it does come with some risks.
All the EM•POWER co-founders have a connection to a single untested embryo, so while we know taking a chance on a single embryo may not feel right for everyone, we share our stories to provide perspective and food for thought.
Jen had one untested embryo remaining after her twins were born. She donated that embryo to one single woman, and now that embryo is a healthy 6-year-old boy.
Maya was only allowed one embryo to attempt pregnancy through a clinic program. While there were two embryos from the same batch, she was only given one untested embryo to transfer. She felt very connected to the embryo for a variety of reasons, and the decision to move forward became about the chance with that particular embryo rather than the number of possible chances with a different set of embryos.
Gina got pregnant with each of the single untested embryos she transferred and then had a larger batch of embryos (also untested) to donate, so her recipients had several chances, but her first recipient got pregnant on the first embryo transfer of a single embryo. It may have felt different for her recipients if they had only that one embryo to try, but the outcome would have been the same.
Jen, Maya, and Gina were going through their individual embryo donation journeys nearly a decade ago, so perhaps times have changed, as we do see many recipients interested in having at least two embryos to transfer. But what remains the same is that one embryo (even an untested one) can become a child. Each individual must consider the risks of not having additional embryos if the first attempt is not successful and the importance of feeling connected to the embryo or the embryo donors. At EM•POWER, we know it can be challenging to go through the process of embryo donation for one shot, that's why we offer recipients the ability to re-match for free and discount our journey management service fee if a single embryo donation journey is not successful.
We have some amazing EM•POWERED embryo donors on our Moxi Matching platform! Check it out and see what/who feels right for you!