Decisions Regarding Your Stored Embryos
Making a decision about the future of your remaining frozen embryos can be difficult, especially if you have already decided, for whatever reason, that you do not wish to use them in any further treatment of your own.
The significance of these embryos is unique to each individual. For some, donating their embryos either to scientific research or to another couple may represent an acceptable and personally valid route to resolving any dilemma they have.
For others, giving the necessary consent to allow their embryos to perish may be the chosen way forward.
The right decision is the one you make for yourself, with as much information and support as you wish to have and that is possible for the team of staff at the Unit to give.
Whatever you decide to do, you may experience an accompanying sense of loss. It may be helpful to talk to your partner or friends and family as appropriate, or your sense of loss may simply recede as you move on with your life.
However, for some people there may be a need to have a personal marker of their loss. There are ceremonies and rituals within every culture to mark all kinds of events. These events can help to validate and honour human experiences, as well as mourn their ending.
Finding a way of your own to acknowledge this particular experience and its meaning in your life may help your process of “letting go” and looking positively to the future.
If you would like to talk further about this or you have any other concerns relating to your fertility difficulties or treatment, before making any decision about how to proceed, please contact the Unit on 0191 445 2768 or at [email protected]. We will put you in touch with the Unit Counsellor who provides counselling sessions via video call or telephone.