Many times, families will have embryos left over after in-vitro fertilization. And, some people wind up donating them to others rather than keeping them in storage or having them destroyed, particularly after they’ve had as many children as they want to have. This is a wonderful thing to do for three chief reasons.
1. Helping Other Families
Infertility is crushing. Feelings of inadequacy, frustration, anger, and sadness are all emotions that are common in people who experience infertility. This can affect a person of any gender whether the person would be the one delivering the baby or not. By donating your extra embryos, you enable someone who might not be able to have children naturally to do so. It’s an unselfish thing to do, for sure, and the probability of you making another person, couple, or blended family of some kind very happy is high.
2. Lowers Your Stress
By choosing embryo donation, you settle the issue instead of wrestling with the other choices, such as keeping them, donating them to science, or destroying them. The happiness that you will bring to someone else will also act as a buffer against stress. And, the benefits of lower stress will be readily apparent during your pregnancy after IVF.
The people you help could be unable to go through the IVF process for any number of reasons. They might not be able to afford it. It might be a same-sex couple that would be exceptional parents. Or, it could be a cishet widow who still wants children even after the death of her husband. And, by lowering your stress through embryo donation, you’ll also be lowering the stress of someone else who wants to have children but cannot.
There isscience behind the positive effects of helping others, including the lowering of stress. The research shows that being generous lowers cortisol levels, and cortisol is one of the hormones associated with stress. At the same time, altruism of any sort increased oxytocin, which is linked to positive feelings and joy.
3. No Wasting of Embryos
When there are people out there who are incapable of conceiving children, yet want them, why not donate your embryos to help them? Having them destroyed is a waste when they can make others happy by fulfilling their familial dreams. And, although donating them to science, instead, can be worthwhile, it doesn’t let both you and another family be happy. A feeling of well-being is important to mental health. Also, paying it forward encourages others to do the same.
In short, helping others helps you. And, by donating your embryos to someone else who’s experiencing infertility, you experience the requisite altruism to help not only them but also you. Of course, if you’re in a relationship of some kind, then you’d have to speak with your partner first before donating. Because generous behavior is beneficial to you, doing so as a couple can also strengthen your relationship. This shared decision can foster deeper communication and mutual understanding, as you both navigate the emotional and ethical considerations involved.