How much does embryo adoption cost?
Embryo adoption, which doctors call embryo donation, lets a family use embryos another family made in IVF and no longer needs. Here is what 8 programs and 3 clinics post for it on their own pages, how often it works, and the rules that apply, each in its source's own words.
A first donated-embryo transfer adds up to $11,009 to $19,514 at the programs that post enough to tell, before medications and a home study. That is a program's fees plus a clinic's frozen embryo transfer, and it is usually less than donor eggs, because the embryos already exist. A matching service can cost as little as $150, and then the clinic's transfer is most of the bill.
What a first transfer adds up to
Where a program posts enough to tell: its own estimate, or the sum of the fees it posts, as each row says. Sorted by state, never by price.
| Program | A first transfer | How we got it, and what it leaves out |
|---|---|---|
Embryo Donation International Fort Myers, FL | $11,905 to $19,514 | Its own estimate on its 2023 price list, from anonymous to open donation, with medications and monitoring included. Not in it: other physicians’ and legal fees, travel and pregnancy care. |
National Embryo Donation Center Knoxville, TN | $11,009 to $12,454 | The sum of its posted fees: application and program fee ($5,899), its clinic’s clearance visit ($660) and transfer cycle ($4,000), and the donor fee for one transfer ($450 to $1,895). Not in it: the home study and its review, medications and outside monitoring. |
Nested Adoption Solutions | $13,200 to $16,500 | Its all-inclusive program fee with the frozen embryo transfer, which its two pages state differently. Not in it: anything its pages do not list; ask what the fee covers. |
Snowflakes Embryo Adoption | $13,100 to $19,100 | The sum of its application and program fees ($9,100) and the $4,000 to $10,000 its page gives for a clinic’s frozen embryo transfer. Not in it: the home study, and medications where the clinic’s price does not include them. |
What each embryo donation program charges
Agencies, matching services and embryo programs that connect a family with donated embryos, each fee in the program's own words on its own page, read on the date at the top. Sorted by state, never by price.
| Program | What it charges | In its words |
|---|---|---|
Embryo Donation International Clinic program, Fort Myers, FL Run by Specialists in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery |
| “Embryo Transfer 5,250 5,250 5,250” “Embryo Shipping Fee 500 500 500” “Subtotal: $11,905*– 15,076 $12,529*– 15,676 $18,870*- 19,514” Not in its fees: other physicians’ and legal fees, travel and lodging, and pregnancy care, as its list says. Its price list is dated 2023 and says 95% of its patients fall at the lower end of each estimate. |
New Life Adoptions Adoption agency, MN |
| “There is a $50 processing fee for the preliminary application.” “Application Fee $ 1,000” “Home Study Fee $ 3,000” Not in its fees: the clinic’s transfer and medications. |
National Embryo Donation Center Embryo bank, Knoxville, TN |
| “Application Fee (Paid with Initial Application) … $449.00” “Program Fee (Due at initial Consult) … $5,450.00” “For multi-embryo sets, the minimum fee per transfer is $995, and the total maximum per transfer is $1895.” “Open Agreement Facilitation Fee, … ($1,765)” “TOTAL $5,899.00” Not in its fees: the home study, medications, monitoring outside its clinic, and the clinic fees on the same schedule (see the clinic table). Its schedule says fees paid to it are non-refundable and not covered by insurance or eligible for FSA or HSA spending; new pricing took effect January 1, 2026. |
Embryo Adoption Services of Cedar Park Adoption agency, Cedar Park, TX |
| “There is a fee to submit the formal application forms of $375.00” Its own pages post only this fee; ask for its program and home study fees. |
ADORED Adoption agency |
| “*Application and $250 app fee required.” “ADOPTION BUNDLE HOME STUDY REVIEW, MATCH, OPEN DONATION MEDIATION, AND TRAINING $ 3,950” “Basic Home Study Service $ 1,900” Not in its fees: the clinic’s transfer and medications; its bundle is for families working with a partner clinic. Its page: “After approval, no program fees are due until match.” |
Miracles Waiting Matching service |
| “We charge embryo recipient families an one-time $150 fee.” “we charge recipients $35 to add a new profile” Not in its fees: everything after the match: families who meet through it arrange the rest with their own clinics. A listing site where donating and receiving families find each other; its page says it charges donating families nothing. |
Nested Adoption Solutions Adoption agency |
| “Our program fee of $13,200 is all-inclusive, covering all necessary services for donated embryo adoption and FET, providing financial clarity and peace of mind.” “The $16,500 program fee is non-negotiable and covers all necessary services for a seamless and supportive journey through embryo adoption and FET.” Its two pages state different program fees, both covering the frozen embryo transfer; ask which one applies to you. |
Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Adoption agency Run by Nightlight Christian Adoptions |
| “The Nightlight application fee is $600.00 and is due upon submission of the application.” “The Snowflakes Program fee is $8,500.00” Not in its fees: the home study and the clinic’s frozen embryo transfer, which its page puts at $4,000 to $10,000. Its page: “The cost of an FET ranges from $4,000 to $10,000, which may or may not include the cost of the medication needed for cycle preparation.” |
A matching service only puts families in touch: after a match, the families and their clinics arrange the transfer, so the clinic's fees and any legal agreement are the rest of the bill.
What clinics post for a donated-embryo cycle
Few clinics post this price: these are the ones whose price we found, on their own pages or their program's schedule. For comparison, clinics post $2,294 to $9,900 for a frozen embryo transfer with a family's own embryos.
| Clinic | Offer | Posted price | What the price covers, in its words |
|---|---|---|---|
California IVF Fertility Center Sacramento, CA Its IVF prices and success rates | Up to 3 transfers | $21,000 | “The program is offered at a flat rate of $21,000, and patients may qualify for a refund of the program costs if they are not successful after 3 transfer procedures.” Up to three transfers, without genetic screening; medications and travel are not included. Its California Conceptions program creates the embryos from donor eggs and donor sperm: they are not another family’s leftover embryos. |
California IVF Fertility Center Sacramento, CA Its IVF prices and success rates | Up to 3 transfers, screened embryos | $28,000 | “Genetic Screening $28,000 Per 3 Tries” The same program with genetically screened embryos; medications and travel are not included. |
Cooper Institute for Reproductive Hormonal Disorders Mount Laurel, NJ Its IVF prices and success rates | Donor embryo program | $3,850 | “We also have a very inexpensive donor embryo program at a cost of $3,850 plus blood and ultrasounds.” Blood work and ultrasounds are extra; its page says medication costs are minimal and set case by case. |
Southeastern Fertility Center Knoxville, TN Its IVF prices and success rates | Transfer cycle (NEDC) | $4,000 | “Medical Transfer Cycle Fees (Per Cycle) … $4,000.00” Each transfer cycle for a National Embryo Donation Center family; a medical clearance visit is $660 more. Listed on the National Embryo Donation Center’s fee schedule, where its transfers take place. |
Each says so on its own site; ask it for its transfer fee and any coordination fee before you match.
- CNY Fertility Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO
- Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Jacksonville, FL
- Shady Grove Fertility-Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
- Mid-Iowa Fertility, Clive, IA
- Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine, Boise, ID
- Shady Grove Fertility-Rockville, Rockville, MD
- Michigan Reproductive & IVF Center, Grand Rapids, MI
- Atlantic Reproductive Medicine Specialists, Raleigh, NC
- North Carolina Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cary, NC
- Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey, Basking Ridge, NJ
- CNY Fertility Center, Syracuse, NY
- Shady Grove Fertility-Pennsylvania, Wayne, PA
- Southeastern Center for Fertility and Reproductive Surgery, Knoxville, TN
- Texas Fertility Center, Austin, TX
- Shady Grove Fertility-Richmond, Richmond, VA
Why donated embryos usually cost less than donor eggs
With donor eggs, a family pays for the eggs and then for the IVF that fertilizes them and grows embryos. With donated embryos, that work was done for another family.
US egg banks post $17,900 to $24,500 for one lot of frozen donor eggs, and the clinic's IVF to fertilize them and grow embryos comes on top. Every egg bank's prices
The embryos exist already, so the clinic's part is a frozen embryo transfer, and a first transfer adds up to $11,009 to $19,514 at the programs above.
“Live birth rates are similar between frozen donor embryos and fresh embryos created with cryopreserved donor oocytes and donor sperm.”
How often a donated-embryo transfer leads to a birth
Nationally, and at each of the 43 clinics that published a donated-embryo rate to the CDC for 2022 (275 clinics tell the CDC they offer donated-embryo services). Sorted by state, never ranked: a clinic with few such transfers can swing a lot from year to year.
“Among 8773 transfers with known outcomes, 4685 (53.4%) resulted in pregnancy and 3820 (43.5%) in live birth.”
“From 2004 to 2019, there were 21,060 frozen donated embryo transfers in the United States, resulting in 8457 live births.”
“Success rates for patients using donor eggs, donor embryos, or donated embryos from patients who previously used ART are shown per transfer.”
Live births per embryo transfer, from each clinic's report to the CDC for 2022. A dash means the CDC published no rate for that kind of transfer at that clinic.
What the FDA, ASRM and the law say
The federal donor rule for embryos made for a family's own use and later donated, the professional guidance and a state statute, in their own words.
“An embryo originally intended for reproductive use for a specific individual or couple that is subsequently intended for directed or anonymous donation for reproductive use is excepted from the prohibition on use under § 1271.45(c) even when the applicable donor eligibility requirements under subpart C of this part are not met.”
“(2) “NOT EVALUATED FOR INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCES,” unless you have performed all otherwise applicable screening and testing under §§ 1271.75, 1271.80, and 1271.85.”
“It should be noted that this guidance represents minimum standards for screening, testing, and counseling of potential embryo donors and recipients.”
“However, the selling of embryos per se is ethically unacceptable.”
“The use of the term ‘‘adoption’’ for embryos is inaccurate and should be avoided.”
“A child born to a recipient intended parent as the result of embryo relinquishment pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall be presumed to be the legal child of the recipient intended parent; provided that each legal embryo custodian and each recipient intended parent has entered into a written contract.”
Common questions about embryo adoption cost
How much does embryo adoption cost?
At the 4 programs that post enough to tell, a first transfer adds up to $11,009 to $19,514, before medications and a home study. It is usually two bills: the program's fees and the clinic's frozen embryo transfer, which clinics post at $2,294 to $9,900 with a family's own embryos. Where an agency requires a home study, two agencies post $1,900 and $3,000 for one.
Is embryo adoption cheaper than donor eggs?
Usually, yes. US egg banks post $17,900 to $24,500 for one lot of frozen donor eggs, and the IVF to fertilize them and grow embryos comes on top. With donated embryos, the embryos already exist, so the clinic's part is a frozen embryo transfer. A 2025 study of US registry data found similar live birth rates for donated embryos and for fresh embryos made from frozen donor eggs and donor sperm.
How successful is embryo adoption?
In CDC data for 2016 to 2019, 43.5% of frozen donated-embryo transfers with a known outcome ended in a live birth. 43 US clinics published their own donated-embryo rate to the CDC for 2022, from 8.6% to 66.7% per transfer; a clinic with few such transfers can swing a lot from year to year.
Is embryo adoption the same as adoption?
The name is borrowed. ASRM's ethics committee says the term adoption is inaccurate for embryos and calls it embryo donation. Programs arrange it with an agreement between the families, and some agencies add a home study, as in an adoption. Georgia has a statute that presumes the recipient is the child's legal parent when the families sign a written contract.
Do donated embryos have to be screened for infections?
The FDA's rules let embryos first made for a family's own use be donated later even when the full donor screening was not done, but then they must carry the label NOT EVALUATED FOR INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCES. ASRM's guidance sets minimum standards for screening, testing and counseling of embryo donors and recipients.