Embryo Donation: The Family-Building Option You’ve Never Heard Of with Maya Grobel of EmPower with Moxi

What if the answer to your family-building journey was a frozen embryo that someone else created? Today, we will blow your mind about the (literally) life-changing world of embryo donation. Maya Grobel is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) / psychotherapist in reproductive medicine. Her diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve in her early 30s sent her straight to IVF, which resulted in no embryos to transfer and intense heartbreak. Over the next 4 years, she and her husband tried everything assisted reproductive medicine had to offer and documented the entire journey, which resulted in a feature-length film called One More Shot that debuted on Netflix in 2018 and is now available on Amazon PRIME. Spoiler: the end of their journey was the birth of their daughter who was conceived via embryo donation. She has co-authored the chapters on embryo donation for two very important books for reproductive medicine professionals. And she is a co-founder of EM•POWER with Moxi, an organization modernizing the embryo donation process, backed by a Department of Health and Human Services grant. Embryo Donation 101 How does embryo donation work? Challenges: Legal gray areas, lack of standardization, and political influence. The importance of counseling for both donors and recipients. Unethical Practices in the Current System Anonymity vs Directed Donation Why don’t clinics openly share this with families? The Advantages of Embryo Donation Cost-effectiveness compared to other fertility treatments or adoption. The ability to experience pregnancy and birth. The emotional complexities of raising a child conceived through donation. Modernizing the Process with EmPower How EmPower is simplifying and standardizing the donation process.