FAQs

Embryo donation is a family-building process in which embryos created through IVF are donated by one individual or couple to another for the purpose of achieving pregnancy. In many cases, the donating family has completed their own reproductive journey and chooses to help others build a family.

Legally, embryo donation sits at the intersection of reproductive law, contract law,  parentage law and estate planning. In recent years, a growing number of states have begun to treat embryos differently under their laws, with some moving toward personhood frameworks that affect how embryos may be managed for specific medical treatment, stored, donated, or discarded. Because the legal landscape varies significantly by jurisdiction, both the structure of the arrangement and the law governing it are very important.

If meeting in the future or having the possibility of future contract is desired, then before a match is made, you should make sure the donor knows this (or lists in her profile that she is open to this). If the donor agrees to your request, we will write the necessary language into the egg donation agreement.

Most egg donation agreements refer to the parties by an identification number. As such, you would sign the agreement with your identification number.

An egg donation agreement exists so that each party can state their intentions and acknowledge their legal responsibilities to one another. The agreement will also clearly state that the donor does not intend to parent any resulting child(ren) and does not wish to have physical or legal custody of any resulting eggs, embryos or child(ren).

The birth registrar at the hospital will provide detailed instructions on how to obtain your child’s birth certificate, but generally you will have to make a written request. Should you have any additional questions after receiving the hospital’s instructions, IFLG will be happy to further assist you.

Your child’s birth certificate will not be automatically sent to you. Generally you will have to make a written request (see #1 above).

If an expedited birth certificate is required (e.g., for international clients who need the birth certificate to obtain the child’s passport), please be sure to notify the birth certificate clerk at the hospital when you are completing the hospital’s birth certificate worksheet. Expedited birth certificates can usually be obtained within approximately two weeks after birth, depending on the State and County, and you must pick it up in person.

Most State Vital Records offices are required to record information about the person who physically gave birth, but this is placed only on the confidential portion of the birth certificate record (usually only in electronic records, not the printed, short-form birth certificate). This is done for statistical purposes only to track the number of births throughout the different regions/counties/cities of the state. The birth certificate you will obtain (sometimes referred to as the short-form birth certificate) will not show this information.

You will need to make a written request to obtain your child’s social security number/card. Please check with our office to discuss your specific situation, as the process and necessity for a social security number can differ based on how the birth certificate is prepared and/or can differ for international clients.

You can obtain an application for a newborn social security number at the U.S. Social Security Administration’s website, at this page: http://www.ssa.gov/online/ss-5.pdf. For additional information about newborn social security numbers, please visit: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10023.html. Please check with our office to discuss your specific situation, as the process and necessity for a social security number can differ based on how the birth certificate is prepared and/or can differ for international clients.

You must complete a US State Department application to obtain a passport for your child. This application can be completed online or downloaded and printed from the United States Department of State’s website, starting at this page here. Along with the application, you must also provide passport photos and a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate.

If your travel plans require an expedited passport, please notify our office immediately after the birth. We will be more than happy to help guide you in the best way to obtain your child’s passport. You should allow at least three to five business days for this process.

Pursuant to the egg donation agreement, the eggs belong to the intended parents from the moment of retrieval, so it is extremely unlikely that an egg donor could assert any parental rights.

Embryo donation is generally treated as a transfer of reproductive material within an “ownership” model rather than a traditional adoption.

The legal treatment is not uniform, however. A small number of states have enacted statutes that allow parentage orders in relation to embryo transfers, and some faith-based programs use the term “embryo adoption” for ethical or religious reasons even where the law treats the arrangement as a donation.

For intended parents who may travel or relocate to a more restrictive state after a child is born, a confirmatory adoption or parentage order can provide an important layer of legal portability. Court-orders of parentage are entitled to Full Faith and Credit recognition in every U.S. jurisdiction under the U.S. Constitution (and this is well-settled in US Supreme Court jurisprudence). Whether a parentage action is advisable depends on the specific facts of the case and the jurisdictions involved.

In properly structured embryo donation arrangements, the intended recipients are generally recognized as the legal parents of any child born as a result of the donated embryos.

A carefully drafted legal agreement is essential to establish:

• The donors’ relinquishment of parental rights and responsibilities
• The recipients’ intent to become the legal parents
• Consent to embryo transfer;
• Future use and disposition of remaining embryos; and
• Expectations regarding future contact, disclosure of the donor’s identity to a resulting child, and the possible exchange of future medical information and health updates.

In some cases, as noted above, parentage is further protected through a parentage order. The agreement should also include a choice-of-law provision identifying which state’s laws govern the contract, and should address contingencies such as the death, separation, or divorce of the recipients.

When the arrangement is properly documented and completed in compliance with applicable law, embryo donors typically do not retain parental rights or obligations toward any child born from the donated embryos.

The strength of these protections depends on several factors, including the state involved, the quality of the legal drafting, compliance with clinic and statutory requirements, and whether each party had independent legal counsel. Agreements signed without separate counsel are more vulnerable to challenge, which is one reason clinics and matching programs increasingly require it as a condition of treatment.

Yes. Best practice, and in many cases a clinic or statutory requirement, is for both the donors and the recipients to have independent legal counsel.

Separate representation helps ensure informed consent by all parties, ethical compliance, reduced risk of future disputes, and enforceability of the agreement. Independent counsel also gives each party the space to discuss sensitive issues privately and to make fully informed decisions about future contact, confidentiality, disposition, medical disclosure, and other issues or concerns.

A well-drafted embryo donation agreement is detailed and tailored to the specific arrangement. Common provisions include:

• Relinquishment of parental rights by Donor(s)
• Intended Parent recognition
• Future contact and identity disclosure expectations
• Confidentiality and privacy
• Medical and genetic history disclosures
• Number of embryos being donated
• Storage and transportation responsibilities
• Future disposition of remaining embryos
• Financial responsibilities
• Liability limitations
• Choice-of-law and forum provisions
• Contingencies in the event of death, divorce, or separation of recipients
• Sibling registry and medical update protocols

The agreement should reflect not only the legal realities of the arrangement, but also the emotional and ethical considerations involved.

In theory, yes. In practice, the framework has shifted. Consumer DNA testing and relative-matching databases now make genetic identification broadly accessible to any child who eventually seeks it.

In response, identity disclosure provisions have become the current standard of practice in modern embryo donation agreements. Arrangements may still be non-identified (aka, anonymous), semi-open, or fully open in their relational structure, but rather than relying on a promise of anonymity that the parties cannot fully guarantee over a lifetime, these provisions establish clear expectations for how, when, and under what circumstances a child or the parties may exchange information.

We encourage clients to approach these conversations thoughtfully, with an awareness that the framework set today will shape decisions a future child may one day make.

Yes. LGBTQ+ couples and individuals, single parents, and intended parents from a wide range of family structures build their families through embryo donation.

The legal landscape, however, is uneven. Some states have stronger statutory protections than others, some jurisdictions allow certain agencies to decline service on religious grounds, and parentage recognition varies depending on family structure. For families who may live in or travel to states with weaker protections, a confirmatory adoption or a formal judgment of parentage can provide important additional security.

International intended parents face an additional layer of complexity, including parentage recognition in the home country, birth certificate procedures, immigration and citizenship considerations, return-home logistics, and marital status requirements in certain jurisdictions. Our firm works extensively with both domestic and international intended parents in navigating these issues.

The legal agreement should address this question before any transfer takes place. Possible future disposition options may include:

• Additional sibling journeys
• Donation for reproductive use
• Donation for research
• Continued storage
• Compassionate transfer
• Thaw and discard

No. Embryo donation law varies significantly across jurisdictions.

Some states are highly supportive of assisted reproductive technology and intended parent protections, while others offer limited statutory guidance or rely on evolving case law. In recent years, several states have moved toward classifying embryos differently for legal purposes, with implications for storage, donation, and disposition. International intended parents may also face additional legal considerations related to citizenship, immigration, and recognition of parentage abroad.

Because reproductive law is highly state-specific and continues to evolve, legal strategy should always be tailored to the jurisdictions involved, including the state where the embryos are formed and stored, the state where the recipients live, and any state to which the family may later travel or relocate.

Embryo donation arrangements involve far more than paperwork. They raise important questions about parentage, genetics, consent, privacy, ethics, and future family relationships, all within a legal environment that has grown more complex in recent years.

Experienced reproductive counsel helps protect all parties involved, reduce legal risk, ensure compliance with state law and clinic requirements, clarify expectations early, create legally sound documentation, and support a smoother and more secure process.

At IFLG, we approach embryo donation law with both legal precision and human understanding, and we treat each arrangement with the care its long-term consequences deserve.

In most cases, the parties are not required to make an appearance in court for a parental establishment confirmation hearing. An IFLG attorney will appear on your behalf and answer any questions from the court. If you and the surrogate have agreed, we may be able to represent both of you at the hearing. If your presence is required at the hearing, we will notify you.

Each state has different laws regarding surrogacy. It is important for you to be aware of not only the laws regarding surrogacy, but also the laws regarding how to establish yourself as parent within the state where your baby will be born. International Fertility Law Group has experienced attorneys throughout the United States.

Preparing and finalizing your surrogacy agreement involves several steps. The following briefly describes the process from start to finish:

• We’ll first send you a written attorney services agreement to review. It will explain the services we will provide and the cost. Sign and date it, and send it back to our office with your payment.
• Once we have received your signed attorney services agreement, we’ll start work.
• If you intend to use a surrogate, then once you have a match, and your surrogate is medically cleared to proceed, we will prepare the first draft of your surrogacy agreement and send it to you for review. Read it carefully, and call or email us with your questions, comments or suggested revisions. To avoid delay, it is a good idea for you to plan to review the agreement and contact us within two days after you receive it.
• Next, the surrogate will receive your approved draft of the agreement for review with an attorney. If the surrogate requests any changes, we’ll review them and send you a redlined version, showing the requested changes. We will advise you accordingly, negotiate any revisions as needed, finalize the agreement, and send it out to all parties with signing instructions.
• Once we receive signatures from all parties, we will issue a “legal clearance” letter to inform your IVF Physician that you are legally cleared to proceed with your cycle.

If you will be using an egg donor as well as a surrogate, please see our Egg Donation FAQ page for a step-by-step explanation of how egg donor agreements are prepared.

The finalization and execution of your surrogacy agreement can take three to four weeks, depending on how quickly the drafts of the agreement are reviewed and approved. We start working on the agreement once the surrogate is medically cleared, and we generally are able to produce a draft of your surrogacy agreement within three to four days of receiving the signed attorney services agreement and the necessary information regarding your match with your surrogate. We must then account for the time needed for you to review the agreement, as well as the time needed for the surrogate to review the agreement.

Most IVF physicians’ offices require a surrogacy agreement to be in place before your surrogate commences injectable medications. It is always best to have a surrogacy agreement in place as soon as possible.

We offer single-price, all-inclusive service packages, as well as reasonable hourly rates. Please call our office for further pricing information.

The purpose of the surrogacy agreement is to allow each party to state their intentions and to clearly state that the surrogate DOES NOT intend to have parental rights to the child and DOES NOT wish to have physical or legal custody of the child. The second stage of the process requires a parental order, most often in court, during which any rights of the surrogate (and her husband, if she is married) are terminated and the intended parents’ parental rights are confirmed.

In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate is not biologically related to any resulting child(ren). This type of surrogacy involves eggs (from an intended mother, or an egg donor) fertilized in vitro (“in vitro fertilization,” or “IVF”). Once fertilized, these embryos are transferred to the uterus of the surrogate.

In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate’s own eggs are used to conceive the child, so she is biologically related to the resulting child(ren). The procedure used to establish the pregnancy is generally referred to as “intrauterine insemination,” or “IUI,” although IVF and embryo transfer can also be used with a traditional surrogate.

Because all of our work is completed via email, fax, phone/video conferencing, FedEx and U.S. mail, you never need to come to our office, although of course you are very welcome to visit us any time.

The parental establishment confirmation process aims to establish your rights as parent(s) and terminate the rights your surrogate (and the surrogate’s husband, if she is married) may be presumed to have under law. The process generally begins once you are safely into the second trimester and in the fourth month of the pregnancy. At that time we will schedule a consultation with you to go over the next steps of the process, discuss the documents that will be prepared, and begin collecting information from you, your surrogate and your IVF physician that we will need to insert into the parentage documents. In the following month, we will draft and file documents for your case in the appropriate state agency or court. In some states, we are allowed to file the matter before the birth and obtain a “pre-birth order”; in others, state law requires that we file for the parental order after the birth and attend a court hearing. International Fertility Law Group has experienced reproductive law attorneys available throughout the United States. The judges who review these types of parental establishment cases are familiar with the subject matter and are generally on a first-name basis with our attorneys. Barring any extraordinary circumstances, a pre-birth order is generally issued two to five weeks after the matter is filed, and in “post-birth” states a post-birth order is generally issued the same day as the post-birth hearing. Certified copies of the parental order confirming your legal rights as parent(s) to your baby are generally available to you shortly thereafter.

Should you elect to bypass the parental establishment confirmation process, then your surrogate (and her husband, if she is married) may still be presumed to be parent(s) of the child (i.e., the surrogate’s and her husband’s rights are not terminated, as they normally would be by the judgment that is issued). Accordingly, your parental rights will not be secured or established, and your name will generally not be placed on the birth certificate of your child.

While there are some similarities, the parental establishment confirmation process is not an adoption, even if the parental order is issued post-birth. Surrogacy parental orders do not generally require a home study and are completed in a fraction of the time typically required for an adoption.

Surrogacy agreements are the first stage in a two-step process. The purpose of the surrogacy agreement is to allow all parties to state their intentions and their responsibilities to one another. The agreement will clearly state that the surrogate does not intend to parent any resulting child(ren) and does not wish to have physical or legal custody of any resulting child(ren). The surrogacy agreement will also define the rights and responsibilities of the intended parents.

While most judges feel more comfortable issuing judgments in cases where both the intended parents and the surrogate are represented by counsel, they may grant a judgment if a surrogate is not represented. It is in both your and your surrogate’s best interest to have an attorney knowledgeable about surrogacy law explain the agreement.

In some states, the original birth certificate will reflect your names. Other states may allow the names of one or both parents to appear on the birth certificate; it may also be possible to obtain an amended birth certificate. The laws vary from state to state. Please check with our office to discuss your specific situation. International Fertility Law Group has experienced reproductive law attorneys available throughout the United States and abroad.

Your baby must be born in the state in which the parental establishment judgment was issued in order for the judgment to be recognized by that state’s government agencies, hospitals, etc.; however, there are a few exceptions to this rule, and some state vital records offices will accept a court order issued by another state. This varies from state to state. Please check with our office to discuss your specific situation. International Fertility Law Group has experienced reproductive law attorneys available throughout the United States.

If your baby were born in another state, then confirming your parental rights to your baby would fall under the jurisdiction of that state’s courts. Because each state operates quite differently in regard to parental establishment and assisted reproduction law, we suggest that you contact us immediately if you believe there is a possibility that your baby may be delivered in another state. International Fertility Law Group has experienced reproductive law attorneys available throughout the United States.

The parental establishment finalization process generally takes about three to four months from start to finish in pre-birth states, and in those states requiring a post-birth filing or hearing, the matters are completed generally within a week of birth, although some exceptions apply.

Each state has different laws on egg donation. It is important for you to know not only the laws regarding egg donation, but also the laws on the steps you will need to take to establish yourself as parent within that state. International Fertility Law Group has experienced attorneys throughout the United States.

Preparing and finalizing your egg donation agreement involves several steps. The following briefly describes the process from start to finish:

We’ll first send you a written attorney services agreement to review. It will explain the services we will provide and the cost. Sign and date it, and send it back to our office with your payment.

Once we have your signed attorney services agreement, we’ll start work.

We’ll prepare the first draft of your egg donation agreement and send you a copy for review. Read it carefully, and call or email us with your questions, comments or suggested revisions. You should plan to review the agreement and contact us within two days after you receive it, to keep the process moving forward without delays.

The egg donor will receive your approved draft for review with an attorney. If the egg donor requests any changes, we’ll review them and send you a redlined version, showing the requested changes. We will advise you accordingly, negotiate any needed revisions, finalize the agreement and send it out for signature with signing instructions.
Once we receive signatures from all parties, we will issue a “legal clearance” letter to inform your IVF Physician that you are legally cleared to proceed with your cycle.

If you will be using a surrogate as well as an egg donor, please see our Surrogacy Agreement FAQs tab above for a step-by-step explanation of how surrogacy agreements are prepared.

The finalization of your egg donation agreement can take anywhere from two to three weeks, depending on how quickly the drafts of the agreement are reviewed and approved. We start working on the agreement once the donor is medically cleared, and we are generally able produce a draft of your egg donation agreement within 48 hours of receiving the signed attorney services agreement and the necessary information regarding your match with your egg donor. We must then account for the time needed for you to review the agreement, as well as the time needed for the egg donor to review the agreement.

Most IVF Physician’s offices require an egg donation agreement to be signed before your egg donor begins injectable medications. It is always best to have an egg donation agreement prepared and signed as soon as possible.

It is in your and your egg donor’s best interest to have an attorney who is knowledgeable about egg donation law explain the agreement to your egg donor.