what we know about our future kids

In May we were able to view profiles of embryo banks up for adoption at Overlake Reproductive Health.  We knew we wanted to “empty” a bank and bring closure to the family who opted to store these babies.  We will never meet the people who chose to have these children created but we respect their choice to give these children a chance.  Because of this reason, we only looked at the banks the clinic had on hand with 3 or less embryos….which brought it down to 2 banks.  After reading both profiles, we both choose the same bank.

Reading the profiles was a surreal experience.  The massive document contained everything from what medications the genetic parent’s grandfather took to which celebrity he/she most looked like.  From reading the profiles we learned about the genetic parents education levels, their careers, hobbies, how they respond to stress and their reasoning for donating.  We reviewed the health history and found the bank with what we consider the most desirable traits.  It was hard choosing, and very godlike.  We had to agree before we started reading that both groups were equally worthy and in need of a home.  By picking one group we were just extending extra grace to them, not disapproving of the other.

The day we choose, our family became a blended race family and our hearts expanded enough to love 3 more.  These children are the result of a Korean egg and a Chinese sperm. Both healthy donors, not related to each other or to the couple who had the embryos created and stored.  So our kids will have two sets of unknown parents (genetic, and creation) and us, the birth parents.

In August we learned that our 3 embryos have been frozen for nearly 4 years and were already 5 days old when frozen.  At this age, embryos are a full blastocyst.  This means that several cell divisions have taken place and 2 types of cells are present; those which are the baby and those that will become the placenta (more info in this post).    Due to the technology that was used at the time, each embryo has as 60-80% chance of surviving thaw and successfully attaching to the uterus lining.

We pray for the safety of all of our children, but God knows when all of these souls are to join Him.  Not knowing how many of our embryos will reach birth is very difficult, but at least they will have been given a chance and either way their soul will have peace.