ADOPTIVE PARENTS

Embryo adoption is a new program at Adoption Support Center, so we can’t tell you an exact timeframe. That being said, the amount of time you wait could go up or down depending on the type of adoption you’re interested in.

The answers to these questions might determine how long you’ll wait:

• Is this your first child, or are you already parents? Some embryo donors want a child-free family.
• Are you open to babies of all races?
• How much connection do you want with the embryo donor?

For a more detailed breakdown of the adoption timeline, head over to this page.

Adoption is a unique and complex form of parenting. We know you’re going to be great parents — we want to make sure you’re great adoptive parents, too.

Some parts of the adoption journey are legally mandatory, like your home study. Other educational pieces are so that you can give your child the support they need as an adopted person. All together, the work you’ll do before being matched will set you up to be a lifelong learner of all things adoption. See what it means to be an adoptive parent today.

Embryo adoption is a lot like traditional adoption. When you work with ASC, you’ll get educated on being an adoptive parent, undergo a home study and get a family biography before going active in our system.

Once you’re active, ASC will work with embryo donors to find a match that meets your preferences and theirs. Once a match is made, you and the donor will make arrangements for the transfer. In some cases, you might be able to transfer the embryos to a cryobank in Indiana, but in others you might need to travel to another state to receive the donation.

The cost of full-service embryo adoption is roughly $8,000, not including additional costs for transracial adoption or out-of-state applicants. Here’s a breakdown of what that payment supports:


New Parent Seminar

$50
The New Parent Seminar is a required education session for all prospective adoptive families. The seminar is your first glimpse into adoption with ASC, and covers education, stats and stories, along with general adoption law and agency policies.



Registration Fee

$385
During registration, you’ll provide information about your family, your personal and family medical history, and your finances as well as complete a background check. The registration fee covers the cost of processing that information, and is invoiced at the time of signup.



Home Study

$2,500 + federal mileage
ASC provides your mandatory home study to approve you as adoptive parents. You’ll also get educational materials and attend a class to prepare you and your partner for the home study. This fee is due when you attend the Adoption Prep Meeting.



Transracial Adoption Education

$65-200
If you’re adopting outside your race, you’ll need additional education to prepare you for transracial parenting. This fee lets us offer support from some of the most well respected names in transracial adoption.



Non-Indiana Residents Application Fee

$2,500
If you don’t live in Indiana, ASC will work with a home study provider in your home state to make sure your adoption checks all the legal boxes your state might require. This fee covers that process as well as education and support from ASC.



Activation Fee

$1,850
With the information you submit about you and your partner, our team will put together a professional family color profile to market you to embryo donors. The activation fee covers the creation of that profile, as well as the administration of activating you in our system. This fee is due when you attend the New Parent Adoption Prep Meeting.



Match Fee

$1,500
While you are active with ASC, we work hard to find donors who match your preferences and work with them to see if the match is a good fit for both parties. This fee covers the cost of that service, and is due when you match with a donor.



Legal Fees

$1,850 – 2,250
You will need to work with two attorneys; one for donor and one for adopting.



Post-Placement Fee

$150
The post-placement fee is invoiced at 8 weeks post-delivery, and includes:

• Wrap-Up Call with ASC — At this point, your post-placement relationship plan will be in place. During this call, we will discuss that plan and coach you through the update schedule.


• Support Calls with Donor — During this call, ASC and the embryo donor will discuss the post-placement relationship plan and coach the biological family through the update schedule.

There are a handful of situations where you may need to budget for additional services. Some, like post-adoption support, are a great option for any family. Others are more specific, and are only relevant if your circumstances change after you go active with ASC.


Post-Adoption Support/Coaching
$175/hr for in-person // $125/hr for phone/virtual
If you need additional support after birth, we offer consultation in person as well as over the phone or video conference.

Home Study Addendum
$250
A home study addendum is required if your family dynamic changes after your original home study, like bringing a foster child or a long-term visitor into your home. The home study addendum can usually be done as a phone report and might require additional background checks.

New Home Assessment
$500 + federal mileage
A new home assessment is required if your family moves after your original home study.

Home Study Review
$325
If you aren’t able to complete your paperwork within 6 months of your home visit, the home study review fee is charged to update information contained in the home study. You might need to complete time-sensitive documents again before the home study can be completed.

Indiana Review Update
$325 (12-month update per Indiana law)
The Indiana review update is required if your home study will expire before the finalization of your placement. This process will update all documents in your file.

Adoptive families are open to embracing embryos from all different types of circumstances.

When you match with an adoptive family, you will submit paperwork that discloses information about your embryos. That paperwork will include factors like your age, the length of time the embryo has been frozen, embryo grading or the stage of embryo development.

ASC will only match you with an adoptive family who understands and embraces all aspects of your embryos.

This depends on the contract you signed with the egg or sperm donor and whether it specifies that they are to be used for your personal reproductive use only. We can help navigate this and determine if this is a possibility to pursue embryo adoption.

The quality of the embryo doesn’t guarantee a pregnancy. There are prospective adoptive families that are willing to embrace many different factors, so this can still be an option for you.

There are prospective adoptive families who are willing to embrace embryo adoption even if there is limited information available on the donated embryos. We only match donors and adoptive families who are on the same page about factors like this.

Yes, you can! Whether you have one or more, there are families looking to adopt any number of frozen embryos.

There’s a lot we still don’t know about embryo transfers, like the exact amount of time a frozen embryo is viable. But what we do know is that there have been successful transfers with embryos that have been frozen for over 20 years which resulted in healthy pregnancies and babies!

No problem! ASC can work as a mediator between you, your clinic or cryobank, and an adoptive family in Indiana. You will work out the logistics of the embryo transfer yourselves, but ASC will be on hand to support and communicate with both parties throughout the process.

Great! In this case you can arrange a self-directed match. ASC can support you with a la carte services, including:

• Making a relationship plan with the adoptive family
• Aligning with an attorney to handle the legal side of embryo adoption
• Arranging a home study for the adoptive family
• Providing ongoing education for you, the adoptive family and the child when they come of age