How a Fairview Township couple experienced miracle of childbirth with frozen embryos

Jon Albert found himself in a place last April that he never expected: a hospital delivery room as his wife, Stephanie, was giving birth to their son, Evan.

Albert, 47, has known for decades that he would never be able to biologically father a child, due to chemotherapy treatments he received at 13 to battle leukemia.

"The moment just hit me," Jon Albert said. "I got to experience my wife being pregnant and childbirth, which I never thought was a possibility."

Evan Albert, now nine months old, was originally conceived in 2007. He was one of multiple embryos frozen by his genetic parents for future in vitro fertilization, but never used by them.

Instead, those embryos were donated to the National Embryo Donation Center, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based nonprofit organization that pairs embryos with married couples who want to become pregnant and have children.

"Couples who pursue in vitro fertilization often have embryos left over after they have decided their family is complete," said Dr. Jeffrey Keenan, an obstetrician-gynecologist and the center's president. "They don't want to simply discard those embryos, so their fertility clinic often suggests they donate them."

Alberts first considered fostering, traditional adoption

The Alberts, who moved to Fairview Township in August, did not know anything about donated embryos when they began planning to have children. Married in December 2018, they befriended another family at their church in Orlando, Florida, who were foster parents.

They explored that option, as well as traditional adoption.

"We called some adoption agencies," said Stephanie Albert, 43. "The first two places, one national and the other local, weren't even accepting new applications from would-be parents."

"Another said it had a three-year waiting list," Jon Albert said.

Stephanie Albert's mom, who worked at a hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, suggested a possible alternative, adopting frozen embryos.

A doctor had mentioned embryo donation and a nurse had undergone the procedure, she told the couple.

"So, we did some research and I started to get excited," Stephanie Albert said. "There weren't so many families going down this road and I liked the possibility of experiencing pregnancy."

Alberts could have contact with biological parents

The couple considered several organizations before choosing the National Embryo Donation Center, which gained worldwide attention in 2020 after one of its clients gave birth to a daughter from an embryo frozen 27 years earlier. It has since extended that record to 30 years, Kennan said.

The Alberts liked that the center's process was most like a traditional adoption, where the parents could have contact with the genetic parents if both parties agree. Legally, the process is governed by contract law and not adoption law.

"We also liked that we could reserve multiple embryos. We reserved the whole set," Stephanie Albert said. "It enables us to come back for a sibling, so that even though we aren't the biological parents, they could have a biological sibling."

Couples must meet center's requirements to receive embryo

The Alberts learned that not every woman who seeks a frozen embryo at the center qualifies for a procedure. Among the eligibility requirements are that:

• The woman must be 45 or younger.

• The combined age of the couple must be 100 or younger.

• The woman must have a body-mass index of less than 38 at the time of the frozen embryo transfer.

• Couples must pass a home study, conducted by a licensed adoption agency.

• The couple must be a genetic male and genetic female who have been married at least three years.

The procedure is not available to homosexual couples or single women because of the "Christian heritage faith belief that marriage is biblically sanctioned between a man and a woman," Keenan said.

The center is endorsed and supported by several Christian-based organizations, including the Christian Medical Association, Bethany Christian Services, and Baptist Health Systems, according to Arizona State University's Embryo Project Encyclopedia.

Cycle costs less than in vitro fertilization: center spokesman

Implanting, or transferring, an embryo costs about $10,500 to $12,000 for the initial cycle and $4,500 for subsequent cycles, said Mark Mellinger, the center's marketing and development director.

"That doesn't count travel and lodging," Mellinger said. "That compares favorably to in vitro fertilization, which costs about $16,000 per cycle."

The Alberts made two trips to the center, one in March 2022 for testing and another four months later to have two embryos placed in Stephanie Albert's uterus.

"We got to choose whether to have one or two embryos transferred," she said. "We chose two because it increased our chances of having at least one baby and if we ended up with two, we would have welcomed that."

About 54% of the center's embryo transfers result in an established pregnancy. Two weeks later, tests revealed that Stephanie Albert was carrying one healthy fetus.

The pregnancy was relatively uneventful, the Alberts said. Stephanie Albert did not develop any complications, such as preeclampsia — dangerously high blood pressure.

"What was interesting was that, as an older mother, we had some of the risks for complications," said Stephanie Albert, who was careful to take all of her prenatal vitamins and eat healthy. "But because the biological mother was younger, we didn't have other risks."

Couple plans for future after Evan's healthy birth

Evan Albert was born in April, weighing a little over 8 pounds. With blond hair, blue eyes and cheeks so big they practically begged to be grabbed, Evan looks like he could model for baby clothes.

The family moved to Erie County in August, when Jon Albert took a new job as clinic director at Shriners Children's Erie. Though they are still settling into their new house, the Alberts have discussed trying for another child.

"We are in the planning stages of returning to the center," Stephanie Albert said with a smile.

Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ETNBruce.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Fairview PA couple use frozen embryos from donation center to have baby