A Perfect Match
The successful story of an Embryo Donation and Adoption partnership in Chicago, IL

In 2009, the Embryo Adoption Awareness Center identified four levels of adoption agency involvement with Embryo Donation and Adoption. The fourth level is to begin partnering with a local fertility clinic(s) to provide Embryo Adoption services to clients in your area.

This model allows for a mutually-beneficial relationship between agency and clinic. There are now several agencies across the country that are currently involved in or are pursuing this type of partnership.

One of the agencies forging this innovative path is Adoption Center for Family Building (ACFB) in Skokie, IL, which began pursuing a partnership with Fertility Centers of Illinois (FCI) beginning in the spring of 2009.

Tobi Ehrenpreis, Founder and Executive Director of ACFB, said the initial goal was to create a local "advisory board" of experts from the adoption, fertility and legal communities.

"We came up with a plan to put together an advisory board of attorneys from the area, an ethicist, one of the infertility doctors from the clinic, an embryologist... basically we got together all of the different pieces of this process," she said. "We really wanted to evaluate whether there was a need for (an Embryo Donation/Adoption program). And it was pretty universal that there was."

Adoption Center for Family Building had the benefit of an inside connection in Dr. Marie Davidson, a clinical psychologist at FCI, who also serves on the board of directors at ACFB. Davidson said the initial reaction from the clinic was positive.

"We felt this was a wonderful meeting of needs," said Davidson. "We have the embryos and the patients who are struggling with what to do with their remaining embryos. We just hadn't started an embryo donation program yet because we didn't think we could do it well. We didn't have the skills or the people to do it."

But the concept of working in conjunction with an adoption agency seemed like a perfect fit. Ehrenpreis said that the fertility center was eager to move forward on the proposal.

"Everyone was extremely supportive of the idea," said Ehrenpreis. "I'm sure that over time there are going to be a few glitches.  But we came into this knowing that we wouldn't make any hard and fast decisions."

For agencies that are interested in creating a similar working relationship with a clinic in their own city, Ehrenpreis said the key is beginning a dialogue.

"I think you have to establish what the need is for it by pulling together people who are interested and have expertise and getting them in the room to talk about it," she said. "If the practice believes that this is a good idea, they'll listen."

Davidson said finding the right person to approach within the clinic is a main ingredient for success.

"I think step one is to do some basic research on clinics in the area that store embryos and could use some help," Davidson said. "You need to find the right practice and then, even more important, you need to find the right person. And, in addition, have something well-enough developed that you can hand it to them and say: 'Here's what we can do.'"

While the partnership between Adoption Center for Family Building and FCI is still in its early stages, both Ehrenpreis and Davidson said they believe it will be a successful venture. And Davidson believes it is a model that not only can be successful in Chicago, but for other agencies and clinics nationwide.

 "From my perspective, this answers a lot of questions and meets a lot of needs for many people out there," Davidson said. "We're all in the same business of trying to help people. It's a marvelous way to connect the two worlds."

For more information about Adoption Center for Family Building, visit www.centerforfamily.com. For further details on how your agency can pursue a partnership like this one, please contact the Embryo Adoption Awareness Center.

Thanks for reading!

Kimberly Tyson, Program Manager

Jeff Dillon, Adoption Agency Liaison

Embryo Adoption Awareness Center
(970) 663-6799