Three Friends Use One Set Of Embryos To Start Families Without Male Partners

There are all kinds of ways to become a parent and these friends found an unconventional approach to make their dream of being moms come true. Wendy was in her 40s and ready to settle down with Mr. Right and have kids, but as a single lady, she knew the clock was ticking. When she turned 43 and wasn’t closer to being married or a mom yet, she committed to becoming a single mom and tried various types of assisted reproductive technology to get pregnant, including IUI, IVF and a donor egg and sperm.

After seven or eight rounds of embryo transfers didn’t work, Wendy pursued adoption and now has a daughter she says is “totally the kid for me.” But she was left with what she calls a “basketball team” of embryos she wasn’t going to use and her friend Abbey was no closer to her goal of having a child, even after unsuccessful IUIs and uterine surgery, so Wendy gave the seven embryos to her. After one implantation with two embryos didn’t work, she tried another one and got pregnant.

Abbey now has a 14-month-old daughter with genes that her bestie chose, but there were still three of Wendy’s embryos left. So with her encouragement, Abbey gave them to her friend of 20 years who had tried two unsuccessful rounds of IVF. Now, thanks to her friend, she’s expecting a girl, who will be Abbey’s daughter’s biological sister. “Your path takes so many turns during this and every one feels like a heartbreak," Abbey says. "But it definitely all worked out for the best."