Embryo donation is rising in the U.S., with frozen donated embryo transfers nearly quadrupling from 2004 to 2019 and more than 1 million embryos estimated to be in storage. Recipients increasingly seek non‑anonymous matches to learn about genetic origins and to choose donors who share values or background. Platforms such as Empower With Moxi facilitate direct connections, while experts note legal, logistical and medical-screening considerations remain essential.
More Embryo Donors Choose Known Connections Over Anonymity
Embryo donation is rising in the U.S., with frozen donated embryo transfers nearly quadrupling from 2004 to 2019 and more than 1 million embryos estimated to be in storage. Recipients increasingly seek non‑anonymous matches to learn about genetic origins and to choose donors who share values or background. Platforms such as Empower With Moxi facilitate direct connections, while experts note legal, logistical and medical-screening considerations remain essential.
08:30 AM, 11/21/2025Health
Clare Kilcullen had long wanted to be a mother, but early menopause in her 20s made that uncertain. After deciding to pursue parenthood on her own in her 30s, Kilcullen received a frozen embryo donated by a Canadian couple and in July welcomed her daughter, Marlowe.
Embryo donation — when people who have leftover embryos from in vitro fertilization (IVF) donate them to others — is becoming more common. A study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that frozen donated embryo transfers in the United States nearly quadrupled between 2004 and 2019. Researchers estimate there are more than 1 million frozen embryos in storage nationwide, many kept in case their owners later change their minds.
Why recipients want to know donors
For many recipients, knowing something about the genetic family provides emotional reassurance and helps shape a child's origin story. "I just really wanted Marlowe to grow up knowing who the genetic family are," Kilcullen said, describing the donors as an extended family. The donors ultimately gave Kilcullen all 10 of their embryos.
"I had some reservations knowing that she wasn't genetically mine — would that feel different? But the minute she was placed on my chest, those doubts vanished," Kilcullen said.
Barriers and new approaches
Despite increasing interest, embryo donation has faced longstanding logistical and legal hurdles. "We've been trying to get embryo donation off the ground for a very long time," said Dr. Richard Paulson, a fertility specialist at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and a member of the team that reported the first successful U.S. birth from a frozen embryo in 1986. Paulson noted concerns such as complex legal arrangements and the fact that original parents may not have been screened universally for genetic disease.
To make the process more accessible and less anonymous, some services now connect donors and recipients directly through online platforms. Empower With Moxi, co-founded by genetic counselor Gina Davis, is one such platform. It lets prospective parents review donor profiles, meet via video, and choose donors based on shared values, family background, and personal preferences rather than accepting the next available embryo from a clinic waitlist.
Davis and her husband donated embryos after their own fertility journey. Because options were limited when they began, she used social media to find recipients. "When I first started thinking about donating my embryos, most programs were basically anonymous," Davis said. "We thought children deserve to know their genetic origins, and families deserve to know a little more about their origin story."
What this means for families
Non‑anonymous embryo donation creates a range of possibilities: some recipients build ongoing relationships with donors, while others prefer limited information exchanges. Clinics, legal advisors, and genetic counselors play important roles in ensuring medical histories are shared and legal parentage is clarified before transfers proceed.
For Kilcullen, meeting her donors via video felt intensely personal — "like the biggest job interview" — but ultimately gave her confidence in the decision. She described the outcome as an expanded family built with intention: "They’ve entered that world as my child's genetic family, and she was made with love from theirs."