Embryo Donation

With so many unused embryos in cryopreservation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defined a need for resources that can help IVF patients and their partners reach decisions about donating embryos to research or to other couples, or to let the embryos lose viability. To implement the government’s program, interviews were conducted with patients and IVF center personnel to assess the obstacles to making a decision. At the same time, we confirmed that a positive perception – that donation helps others – is the single-most encouraging consideration for most people in this situation, and a compelling basis for a communications strategy to guide patients toward their own best and freest choices.