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Adriana Potter of Elmhurst is expecting twins any day, and she couldn’t be happier.
What she does with the rest of her frozen embryos, however, is up in the air.
Though the option for a woman to donate frozen embryos to stem cell research has been around for some time now, a group of Chicago-area fertility clinics has seen inquiries increase since President Barack Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for the research this year.
Potter is nearly 37 weeks pregnant with twins as a result of in-vitro fertilization. She said she and her husband will wait three years before deciding how to use her remaining frozen embryos.
Potter is aware of the controversy surrounding stem cell research, but said she is more receptive to donating her embryos than simply discarding them.
“I will not completely ignore that we worked so hard to get to this point to have embryos, and we’re just going to throw them away? That doesn’t make sense,” she said. “For every single life in this world, there is a purpose for it. It may be for a donation to research.”
Embryologist Elissa Petts, who works at Fertility Clinics of Illinois’ River North Center in Chicago, said she has received close to 50 inquiries about donating embryos to stem cell research since the funding ban was repealed. She said she has since delivered about 30 patients’ embryos to the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
FCI also has locations in Oakbrook Terrace and Naperville.
Embryos are frozen for couples who produce them after in-vitro fertilization. An embryologist keeps the unused embryos frozen until a later time, when a couple can choose to either use them to have more children, donate them to another family, donate them to stem cell research, or discard them.
For years, some doctors have highlighted the potential of embryonic stem cell research to cure diseases such as leukemia and cancer. At the same time, the movement has faced strong opposition from sources including former President George W. Bush, whose administration asserted that an embryo is an early form of life.
“We think embryos are human beings, and there are ethical problems with donating to science and killing them for scientific research,” Illinois Right to Life Executive Director William Beckman said. “There are many groups out there that adopt embryos for families, and we think that’s a better option.”
Despite the divisive issue, FCI psychologist Marie Davidson said many couples consider donating to science a better alternative for unused embryos than discarding or giving to another family.
Adriana Potter of Elmhurst is expecting twins any day, and she couldn’t be happier.
What she does with the rest of her frozen embryos, however, is up in the air.
Though the option for a woman to donate frozen embryos to stem cell research has been around for some time now, a group of Chicago-area fertility clinics has seen inquiries increase since President Barack Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for the research this year.
Potter is nearly 37 weeks pregnant with twins as a result of in-vitro fertilization. She said she and her husband will wait three years before deciding how to use her remaining frozen embryos.
Potter is aware of the controversy surrounding stem cell research, but said she is more receptive to donating her embryos than simply discarding them.
“I will not completely ignore that we worked so hard to get to this point to have embryos, and we’re just going to throw them away? That doesn’t make sense,” she said. “For every single life in this world, there is a purpose for it. It may be for a donation to research.”
Embryologist Elissa Petts, who works at Fertility Clinics of Illinois’ River North Center in Chicago, said she has received close to 50 inquiries about donating embryos to stem cell research since the funding ban was repealed. She said she has since delivered about 30 patients’ embryos to the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
FCI also has locations in Oakbrook Terrace and Naperville.
Embryos are frozen for couples who produce them after in-vitro fertilization. An embryologist keeps the unused embryos frozen until a later time, when a couple can choose to either use them to have more children, donate them to another family, donate them to stem cell research, or discard them.
For years, some doctors have highlighted the potential of embryonic stem cell research to cure diseases such as leukemia and cancer. At the same time, the movement has faced strong opposition from sources including former President George W. Bush, whose administration asserted that an embryo is an early form of life.
“We think embryos are human beings, and there are ethical problems with donating to science and killing them for scientific research,” Illinois Right to Life Executive Director William Beckman said. “There are many groups out there that adopt embryos for families, and we think that’s a better option.”
Despite the divisive issue, FCI psychologist Marie Davidson said many couples consider donating to science a better alternative for unused embryos than discarding or giving to another family.
“One couple would say we see these embryos as potential life, and we want to donate them to another family,” she said. “Another family might say that sounds good in theory, but it’s odd to have their genes connected to another family’s child.”
State Rep. Bob Biggins, R-Elmhurst, said he is concerned with federal tax dollars going toward a contentious issue such as stem cell research.
“There’s no law preventing anybody from researching stem cells, the issue is the money toward it,” he said.
State Sen. Carole Pankau, R-Bloomingdale, said most people draw the line at embryonic stem cell research, but said her family has twice donated umbilical cords, which also contain stem cells, to LifeSource, when two of her grandchildren were born.
“If (embryonic stem cell research) is the choice of the particular family, they should be allowed to do it, but it deserves a moment of pause,” she said. “But I’ve always encouraged birth cord donations.”
Regardless of what choice is made for unused embryos, FCI reproductive endocrinologist Dr.
Meike Uhler, who works with couples trying to conceive, said the choice is one taken very seriously by parents.
“If (stem cell research) is done right ... there are potentially so many people who can be saved,” she said. “But it’s not an easy decision; families weigh all the factors.”
Davidson added each family is in a unique position, and must work through the decision of what to do with unused embryos themselves after being presented with each option, a point Potter reiterated.
“Three years from now, there will be so many things happening between now and then,” she said. “I hope other couples have an open mind about in-vitro and options they can have and choices they can make, and do research on their own so they can find out what they want to do for themselves.”
