Room for Nuance The Embryo Adoption Interview
Mar 6, 2026
Mark Mellinger, marketing and development director at the National Embryo Donation Center, explains how NEDC rescues and places donated embryos. He covers ethical options for leftover embryos, how IVF practices create large embryo inventories, and the medical, legal, and emotional steps involved in embryo adoption. The conversation also touches on NEDC’s Christian identity and hopes for more ethical fertility practices.
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NEDC's Rescue Model For Leftover Embryos
- The NEDC rescues leftover IVF embryos by accepting donations and matching them to married couples for embryo transfer.
- Mark Mellinger explains embryos are treated as human lives and NEDC has facilitated ~1,700 births over ~20 years.
Why IVF Creates Large Frozen Embryo Inventories
- IVF routinely produces excess embryos because clinics create many embryos per retrieval to maximize chances of pregnancy.
- Early IVF practices and clinic incentives led to batches of 10–20 embryos frozen per couple, creating the donation problem.
Ask Clinics Hard Questions Before IVF
- If you consider IVF, ask your clinic ahead of time about embryo-creation, storage, PGT, and disposal policies.
- Mark urges Christians to go in 'with your eyes open' and request ethical practices like single-embryo creation and refusal of PGT if desired.