80 percent residents aware of family building options: RESOLVE survey

According to a recent survey conducted by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association (RESOLVE), Washington, D.C. metro-area residents are highly aware of various family building options due to a patient’s infertility diagnosis, such as medical treatment, adoption and surrogacy. In contrast, the survey brought to light that less than half knew about an emerging family building option – embryo donation.

The online survey conducted among 814 Washington, D.C. metro-area residents showed:

• At least 80 percent of Washington, D.C. metro-area residents are aware of family building options such as IVF treatment and adoption;
• 72 percent have heard of surrogacy;
• Only 40 percent are aware of embryo donation;
• Of those respondents who are familiar with embryo donation, only eight percent have negative perceptions of embryo donation.

The online survey gauged awareness of embryo donation in advance of embryo donation awareness workshops hosted by RESOLVE on Saturday, September 12, 2009, in the Washington, D.C. suburb of McLean, VA. At the free workshops, couples and individuals will be introduced to the medical, legal and mental health issues surrounding embryo donation, a relatively new process in which individuals who have undergone in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment and have extra frozen embryos decide to release the embryos for transfer to the uterus of another woman.

“One in eight American couples is struggling with infertility,” said Barbara Collura, RESOLVE’s executive director. “In order to fully support those women and men, RESOLVE educates and raises awareness about the many different ways to build a family.”

More than 7.3 million Americans are struggling with infertility. And while they may have heard of some alternatives to traditional conception, many are not familiar with all the different ways they can build their family.

The free embryo donation workshops are being held in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Region of RESOLVE’s 2009 Family Building Conference, on Saturday, September 12, 2009, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Hilton McLean in Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA. The workshops are geared toward potential donors who have completed their family building, have frozen embryos in storage and are considering various options for their disposition, as well as potential recipients who are exploring embryo donation as a way to build their family.

RESOLVE is also conducting a public service awareness campaign in the Washington, D.C.-metro area entitled, “Destination: Family” to drive awareness of the many ways to build a family, including embryo donation.

http://www.resolve.org/