Our names are Aaron and Jennifer Wilson. Our two year old twins, Abel and Belle, were adopted as frozen embryos. Embryo adoption, while unheard of by most, is becoming a very needed type of adoption. Sometimes it is referred to as “snowflake adoption.”
When couples undergo in vitro fertilization, oftentimes more eggs are fertilized than are needed to achieve pregnancy. Usually only a few are transferred into the mother’s womb. The remaining embryos are then cryopreserved (frozen) for future transfers. If a couple has remaining frozen embryos and decides that their family is complete, they are faced with several options: 1) leave them frozen indefinitely 2) destroy them or 3) allow another couple to adopt them.
Regardless of a Christian’s stance on the ethics of IVF, frozen embryos are fully conceived human beings. Embryos who have been placed for adoption need a chance at birth and a loving home. Christians are called to care for these microscopic orphans. Abel and Belle were conceived and frozen in 2006, adopted, thawed and transferred into Jennifer’s womb in 2010. They were born in 2011. Today, by God’s grace, they are healthy, active toddlers.
God laid embryo adoption on our hearts in 2006. Our children waited for us as orphans in a freezer for four years. There are currently over 500,000 frozen embryos in the US. Many are waiting to be adopted today. We often think about domestic and international means of adopting born children, and yet there are also thousands of children needing to be rescued that have never even been in a womb yet! We are so humbled and grateful that God called us to adopt Abel and Belle. They are now growing and learning about Jesus instead of being suspended in cryopreservation.
