Chances are if you are looking to add to your family through adoption, you may be struggling (or have been struggling) with infertility. You are not alone—about one in eight couples in the U.S. face infertility. When first coming face to face with an infertility...
The Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program has been successfully helping embryo donors match with the adopting family of their choice for over 25 years. We have experience. Our matching service is hands-on, and final matches are mutually agreed upon between the two...
In previous blog posts, we described “positive adoption language,” which refers to the careful use of language when speaking about adoption. We recommend careful consideration to the terms used when speaking about embryo adoption. Embryos are human beings, and they...
Requiring a home study as part of the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program follows the best practices of adoption. Previous blogs have addressed why a home study is required and the purpose it serves. In this blog we want to address the question of how the home...
In 1997, John and Marlene had a desire to have children. When they decided to pursue adopting a couple’s frozen embryos, they did not expect to create a new form of adoption that would take the world by storm. Hence the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program was...
At the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in October 2022, new research project was presented on the Psychosocial Outcomes of Children Born via Embryo Donation. The study participants included Snowflakes Embryo Adoption families, but embryo donation is...
Perhaps you are new to our blog, or maybe you are a faithful reader. We are glad you have found it! The Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022. Twenty-five years of helping families with remaining embryos place their embryos...
“You cannot start a relationship on a lie and expect a high level of openness in return.” ~ A Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Mother It is natural to be curious about our origins; and with programs such as Ancestry DNA and 23andMe, it has never been easier to get...
Did you know that embryo adoption has existed for 25 years? National Adoption Month is recognized in November, where adoption agencies and families celebrate the beauty of adoption. However, embryo adoption is often overlooked. Why is it not considered a form...
October is recognized as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, with the aim to honor the millions of families who have experienced loss of children through miscarriage, stillbirth, termination for medical reasons, or infant death. Historically, such a loss...
Self-care. This has become a frequent buzzword in our society. It is so wonderful to take some time for yourself for a change; to treat yourself to a bubble bath, massage, pedicure, or even a large fry at the drive through to satisfy that junk food craving....
So, you have decided to take the plunge and donate your embryos to another family! You may think the process is simple: Speak with a representative, sign some papers, and then you are done! There is so much more to the embryo donation process then some families...
Starting the embryo adoption journey through the Snowflakes program can be very exciting, but the financial component can take people by surprise. Adopting embryos does indeed have a cost, but the good news is that there are grants, scholarships, and loans out...
When you are adopting embryos through the Snowflakes embryo adoption program, there are two options you can choose from to fulfill the home study requirement of this program: a traditional home study or a Snowflakes Family Evaluation (SFE). When deciding...
Embryo adoption is a unique option that can help families experience the joys (and challenges!) of pregnancy and childbirth with their adopted child. You may be starting the process through the Snowflakes program, but it is usually a new and difficult...
During this Spring season, we see flowers blooming and everything that was dead during the winter months sprouting to new life. For Christians, it is also the time of surrender and sacrifice through the reminder of Easter and the weeks and traditions leading up...
“We are solving a problem that already exists.” This is the simple answer we give for why embryo adoption is permissible, even if one has reservations about in vitro fertilization. In fact, since embryos are human beings, then not only is embryo adoption...
We believe they are absolutely necessary! Here are a three main reasons why we at Nightlight agree that embryo adopting parents should have a home study completed before adopting embryos. Reason #1: Having a completed home study follows best practice for adoption....
It is an exciting thought that you can carry your adopted child through embryo adoption! However, there is a medical side of this adoption process that requires some thought. One decision families are faced with is whether to do a medicated (sometimes referred to as...
Headlines state, “Baby Born from Embryo Frozen for 27 Years.” We all read in awe, marveling over the circumstances that allowed this to happen. If you have frozen embryos in storage, this might be the moment you begin considering the possibility of donating...
Christmas is a time of excitement. Stores are bustling, shoppers are busy, and there is a sense of anticipation in the air as we prepare for the holidays with friends, family, food, and gift-giving. In the back of your mind, you think again about your frozen embryos...
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that can cause issues such as insulin resistance and irregular menstrual cycles. More importantly to most women, PCOS can stop ovulation from occurring, which in turn impacts fertility. Around 6% to 12% of US...
Surrogacy for pregnancy and gestational carriers seem to often be a trending topic online. We all know that social media can be a source of very helpful connections and information, but it is not always the best source of truth. Here are some of the myths surrounding...
Much like the “fourth trimester” of pregnancy (also known as Post-Partum Depression), Post- Adoption Depression can sneak up on families during what seems like the happiest time in a couple’s life. Post- Adoption Depression can happen after a family welcomes an...
Earlier this month, there was an article on the Today Show: The anguish of saying goodbye to my 25-year-old embryos. It is sad to hear that so many embryos sit in frozen storage and forgotten, because the families who created them do not want to make a decision...
Domestic adoption has been an incredible choice for many families, but for others it simply does not work out in the end. They become weary of domestic adoption because of long waiting times for the child of their dreams. That was the experience of Dana and...
The turn of a new year tends to bring about themes of renewal, fresh starts, decision making, and conquering goals. For those of you who have found yourself at the end of your IVF journey, you may have come face to face with the decision this past year of what...
What memories do you have as a child around this time of year? Perhaps, like me it was the family gatherings, the giving of gifts, blessing those who are not so fortunate, or just watching the snow fall. It always looked so beautiful as its gentle...
The holidays are a time for merriment, cheerful moments, and spending time with loved ones. But for those who are waiting to adopt, the holidays may be a difficult or painful reminder of what is missing. Waiting to adopt can be hard at any time during the year, but...
It can sometimes be challenging to choose an attitude of gratitude when you are on the path of adoptive parenting. Adoption inherently involves loss and grief, and the wait to bring your child home can seem unbearable. How can we focus on giving thanks as we...
The concept of “open adoption” has become much more accepted in the last 30 years. Today, roughly 90% of adoptions are open, according to the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. Many families, however, still have questions and concerns about what that...
Requiring a home study as part of the embryo adoption process follows the best practices of adoption. Regardless of whether government entities recognize or regulate the adoption of embryos, the end result is that a child will be placed with parents to whom he or she...
Even though embryo adoption has been around for more than two decades, sometimes this kind of adoption can be a bit of a brain bender. But when you consider that life begins at conception, embryo adoption is such a beautiful way to build your family and rescue...
Reconciliation is at the center of the gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 says, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting...
2020 will likely be remembered for many things. We have faced challenges in the forms of a pandemic, national calls to quarantine, businesses and schools shutting down, and lives being lost. We have also experienced protests erupting across our great nation due to an...
You have decided you want to pursue embryo adoption and have completed all the necessary steps. You have chosen an agency, filled out an application, completed the home study, have been matched with embryos, finalized the contract, and had the embryos shipped...
The Debate on Interracial Adoption: Since the 1970s, there have been debates in America on whether children of one race should be adopted by parents of another. One camp argues that children adopted interracially lose their sense of identity and culture, while...
It was a dark snowy Friday night when I was driving to meet my husband at a local fundraiser. I typically drive in silence but I had stumbled across a radio program that caught my attention. My husband and I been unsuccessfully trying to build our family for...
In the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program, there are no anonymous or closed placements available. Why? Simply put, it is just not possible anymore. Thanks to the at home DNA testing kits, and the internet, individuals can easily find out if they are...
The adoption journey is hard—especially on a marriage. From what seems like endless stacks of paperwork, waiting for a match, the anxious feeling you may have about any unforeseen hurdles… it can be hard not to feel a strain on your relationship. And this is...
For the past twelve years, I have been working for Nightlight Christian Adoptions. All of my focus has been on raising awareness and participation in embryo donation and adoption. The most discouraging words I hear on any given day are, “I’ve never heard about...
Having a prospective birthmother choose you to raise her child is a priceless gift that you can never truly repay. Many adoptive parents choose to express their feelings for a birthparent by giving them a meaningful gift at the hospital when the baby is born or...
Attachment is the secure bond that is created initially between an infant and their caregiver. This attachment process will begin in utero with a child’s birthmother and then be formed again with other caregivers, specifically their adoptive parents....
As an adoption agency, Nightlight Christian Adoptions deeply believes in the value of open adoption and the positive impact it has on all members of the adoption triad. One of the main questions that Nightlight social workers typically receive from...
Why work with the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program? People who are inquiring about placing or adopting embryos for achieving a pregnancy are often confused about using an embryo adoption agency or a fertility clinic. Is the Snowflakes program right for you?...
I got all choked up as I watched the little pin-pricks of light on the monitor in the doctor’s office. The way they appeared was a miraculous sight I will never forget. Not for Emily, though. All she could focus on was how much she needed to go to the bathroom! But...
There’s a false notion in some circles of American culture that fatherhood is, well, unmanly. Changing diapers? Beneath us. Strapping on an infant in a Baby Bjorn? Emasculating (not to mention a little silly looking). Sadly, adopting a baby is another activity...
When my wife and I meet new people, I love explaining what I do for work and the joy I get from helping guide families throughout their adoption process. I love sharing the adoption stories and testimonies of the families we work with, and how each have a...
One of the best ways to learn about the embryo adoption journey is to hear about the experiences of someone who has taken this approach to overcoming their infertility challenges. Ellen and Tim Van Treuren are one couple that decided embryo adoption was the right path...
Last Wednesday, social media was flooded with photos of siblings—it was National Siblings Day! Some of you may frequently remember your brothers and sisters with fondness and great memories. Others may be reflecting on the colossal efforts you have made...
Hello, hello! Yes, it’s me, your little embryo. Do have a moment to chat? It’s been sometime since you created me, and while I am super happy you did, but I was wondering what your plans are for me. Are you planning to increase your family and bring me into the fold?...
As we enter the Christmas season, there are so many things to be thankful for: the health of living in a bountiful nation, the happiness of having choices, and the hope of what tomorrow will bring. Yet as we ponder these things amongst our daily to do...
Creating Lifebooks for our children is one of those things in life that some parents follow through better than others, like sending out Christmas cards. The desire is there, we’ve pictured the outcome, we understand the appreciation it will bring...
There are a variety of methods used by medical professionals to grade frozen human embryos, to project the likelihood of pregnancy success. This often includes Preimplantation Genetic Diagnostic (PGD) and Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) testing. However,...
I’ve been working in adoptions long enough to see the significant trend toward open adoptions over the past forty years. I recall sitting in meetings in the 70’ and 80’s with an Adoption Committee in the first agency where I worked doing the matching of...
Egg freezing may be used to preserve future fertility for women. Mature oocytes (eggs) are harvested from a woman’s ovaries, flash-frozen (vitrified), stored, and are later thawed to create embryos using in vitro fertilization Recently, we came across a very...
Is contact with placing families important in an embryo adoption match? How do you establish an open adoption? The Hendersons and Gassmans are embryo placing and adopting families who were matched through the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program. Listen as the two...
Women who are interested in embryo adoption are clearly interested in becoming pregnant and carrying a healthy child to term. Did you know there is something you can begin NOW that will help protect your growing child in utero? Take folic acid. Jennifer Hofmeister, a...
Our openness to adopting a child of a different ethnicity than our own really began years ago, when we knew God was putting Japan on our hearts. At the time, we didn’t realize that this growing interest in Japanese culture and love for Japanese people would have...
There are few things more difficult emotionally than the inability to conceive a child. For a couple in Parker, they had nearly given up hope of having a second baby after a reproductive health complication made it too difficult for them to conceive naturally. That...
In honor of Snowflake’s 20th Anniversary, Dr. James Dobson, Founder and President of “Family Talk” has written a compelling letter to the placing and adopting families of the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program. Read the letter...
How important is embryo quality? There are a variety of methods used by medical professionals to grade frozen human embryos, projecting the likelihood of pregnancy success. However, many healthy children have been born from embryos given a poor quality rating by the...
Webinar: Embryo Adoption: Dispelling the Myths Couples who have been unsuccessful at IVF will also not have success if they try to adopt an embryo. True or False? Parents don’t need to tell their children that they came from a donor conception. Adoption agencies...
Webinar: The Affordable and Accessible Adoption Choice Is it possible that embryo adoption will be the solution that brings a sweet baby into your loving arms? Are you frustrated by the high cost of in vitro fertilization? Heartbroken by your IVF treatment failures?...
Have you heard?! Nightlight has been chosen as one of 30 finalists in Comcast’s Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs contest! We need your help to be chosen as a one of six Grand Prize Winners that will win $20,000! We entered the contest to gain funding that can help make the...
Most people rarely consider our very life as a work of God. In fact, we rarely think about life at all (we’re born, grow up and die). Many folks sadly believe an unborn baby isn’t a human life. Atheist Richard Dawkins tweeted back in 2013 that an unborn baby is less...
It’s January 2015, and for Adéye Salem, that means she’s less than a month away from the frozen embryo transfer that she and her husband have been preparing months for. Adéye recently braved the cold weather and made another video to answer your questions about embryo...
Anthony and Adéye Salem are working on a series of videos to answer your questions about embryo adoption. In the first video, they answer questions about: • Age – Are they too old for embryo adoption? • Success Rate – Why did they choose embryos that have a 20-30%...
Family keeps growing through embryo adoption Meet Adéye and Anthony Salem – an incredible couple from Northern Colorado. Are you thinking, “What’s special about Adéye and Anthony?” Through the years, they’ve built a beautiful family together – a family with nine...
Couples who have pursued in vitro fertilization treatments (IVF) know that sometimes one embryo is not enough. Doctors will often transfer multiple embryos to increase the chances of a successful pregnancy. Any embryos that remain are frozen. If the couple has...
This past Mother’s Day NBC Nightly News ran a short story about women delaying motherhood in America. The statics are startling: From 2000-2012 the percentage of women aged 40-44 having their first baby rose 35%. From 970-2012 the percentage of women over 35 having...
The following is written by a Snowflakes family. We are Ben and Steph, and we’ve had an amazing experience with embryo adoption. After dealing with infertility, we looked into EA. We liked the pro-life aspect – rescuing little lives that are frozen in time, waiting...
You may be familiar with many of the services and programs Nightlight Christian Adoptions has to offer, from international adoption to domestic adoption to the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption program. But did you know that Nightlight also operates a federal grant to...
Many noteworthy things happened to Nightlight Christian Adoptions and its extended family during 2010, but one of the most exciting was being mentioned in Decision Points, the recently-released memoir of President George W. Bush. In the book, President Bush recalls...
Nightlight Christian Adoptions has been a pioneer in the field of embryo donation and adoption through its Snowflakes Embryo Adoption program. Through this program, couples who have undergone IVF and have remaining embryos can chose embryo donation, whereby the frozen...