A different kind of adoption

Have you heard of the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC)? It is a non-profit in Knoxville that stores frozen embryos that in vitro fertilization patients decided not to use and chose to donate instead. There are an estimated one million frozen human embryos stored in the US right now, according to the NEDC. It has been doing this since 2003, and has facilitated more than 1,000 embryo adoptions and births. It now conducts around 200 transfers each year. Similar to a traditional adoption process, couples can decide if they would like a "closed" embryo adoption or an "open" one - allowing for some form of contact with the donor family.

Embryos can stay frozen for a long time. When Molly Gibson was born in October of this year. Her embryo was frozen in October 1992, and stayed that way until February 2020, when she was adopted. The NEDC believes that Molly set a new record for the longest-frozen embryo to have resulted in a birth, breaking a record set by her older sister, Emma.