Talking It Through
Donating embryos is an extremely kind and generous thing to do. Your donation will not only directly affect you, and your partner if you have one, but those close to you, your recipients and any children born following your donation. It’s likely that you’ll want to talk about what being an embryo donor might mean to you. Not just what it means now but in the future. Perhaps you’ll want to explore how it might impact on you, your partner, your children or even wider family and friends. Maybe there are some things that you want to explore individually or as a family. Maybe you have some feelings or concerns that you want to talk about.
Depending on the circumstances surrounding the making of the donated embryos and the creation of your current children, it’s likely that any child born from your donated embryos will be a full genetic sibling of your children.
It’s important that you take the opportunity to see your clinic’s independent counsellor. During the counselling you’ll talk more about the implications of donating, your rights, and the rights of those receiving your embryos and any children born from your donated embryos.
If you have any doubts about becoming an embryo donor then talk them through. If you decide that becoming a donor isn’t right for you then you can withdraw from the process at any time. Even if you decide not to donate your embryos there are lots of other ways you can help people affected by infertility.