Moving embryos to a new fertility clinic—or across state or international borders—is not simply a medical or logistical decision. Before your embryos leave their current storage facility, it is important to understand who has ownership and dispositional control of the embryos, what consent forms and storage clinic forms provide, and whether the laws of the jurisdiction where the embryos being moved are going support your plans for building your family.
Transportation of embryos and genetic material may be necessary for many different reasons. You may be moving to a new state, changing fertility clinics, consolidating your reproductive material at one facility, or preparing to use your embryos in a future pregnancy or surrogacy journey.
The medical logistics of transporting cryopreserved embryos are important. But there is another layer that should not be overlooked: the legal paperwork that travels with your embryos.
First: Make Sure You Have the Legal Authority to Move Your Embryos
Before scheduling a shipment, determine who has ownership and dispositional control of the embryos, and who has the legal right to authorize the transfer.
If you created embryos with a spouse or partner, the clinic’s consent forms, embryo-storage agreement, or your embryo disposition agreement may require your mutual consent before the embryos can be transported to a new location. If donor sperm or eggs were contributed to the creation of your embryos, gamete donor agreements and clinic records may also affect what documentation is required before you can transport your embryos to a new facility or transfer them for purposes of procreation.
This becomes particularly important when circumstances have changed since the embryos were created.
Perhaps you have separated or divorced. Perhaps one partner has died. Perhaps you are no longer in contact with the other person who participated in creating the embryos. Or perhaps your original IVF paperwork was signed years ago and does not address what you now want to do with your remaining embryos.
Do not assume that because a clinic is willing to ship the embryos, everyone with legal rights to the embryos has consented to the move.
Before the tank leaves the facility, review the agreements that govern the embryos and confirm that the appropriate parties have authorized the transfer.
Second: Consider Where Your Embryos Are Going
The laws governing assisted reproduction, embryo disposition, storage, and parentage are not the same everywhere. That matters if you are moving embryos across state lines or internationally.
Different jurisdictions may take different approaches to disputes involving cryopreserved embryos. The language in your existing agreements, the law governing those agreements, and the law of the destination jurisdiction can all become relevant if a dispute arises.
New York, for example, has enacted the Child-Parent Security Act, which establishes a statutory framework governing assisted reproduction and parentage. The law expressly includes IVF and embryo transfer within its definition of assisted reproduction.
But your question should not simply be: “Will the clinic accept my embryos?”
The more important question is: “Does the legal framework where my embryos are going support what I ultimately intend to do with them?”
That distinction can be especially important if you are planning a future surrogacy arrangement, using donor gametes, moving embryos internationally, or relocating permanently to another state.
Three Legal Questions to Answer Before Your Embryos Move
Before the shipment is scheduled, I recommend addressing three fundamental questions:
1. Who has authority over the embryos?
Review your IVF consents, embryo disposition agreements, storage contracts, donor agreements, and any subsequent amendments.
Determine:
- Who must consent to the transfer?
- Who has authority to make decisions about the embryos?
- What happens if one person withdraws consent?
- What happens if one person dies?
- Do your current documents reflect your wishes today?
If your circumstances have changed since the embryos were created, this is an especially important time to revisit your paperwork.
2. What law will govern the embryos and your future plans?
If your embryos are moving to another state—or another country—consider whether the destination’s laws are compatible with your intended use of the embryos.
This is particularly important if you are:
- Planning to use the embryos with a gestational carrier
- Planning a future pregnancy
- Using donor eggs or donor sperm
- Moving embryos internationally
- Considering embryo donation
- Navigating a separation or divorce
- Concerned about what happens to the embryos if one intended parent dies
A move can change the legal landscape surrounding your family-building plans.
3. Will the receiving clinic have everything it needs?
The receiving fertility clinic may have its own requirements for accepting embryos.
If donor gametes were involved, the clinic may request donor screening, testing, medical records, or documentation concerning the donor. Federal requirements governing reproductive tissue include donor screening and infectious-disease testing in applicable circumstances.
Do not wait until the courier is scheduled to discover that the receiving clinic is missing documentation.
What About Embryos Created With Donor Eggs or Sperm?
Embryos created using donor gametes can involve an additional layer of documentation.
Before moving those embryos, confirm that you have copies of the relevant donor agreements and that the receiving facility has reviewed whatever donor documentation it requires.
This is particularly important when embryos were created years ago. Records may be held by a former fertility clinic, egg donation agency, sperm bank, attorney, or other provider.
If an important agreement is missing, it is much easier to address that problem before the embryos are in transit.
What Happens if You Are Moving Embryos for Surrogacy?
If your ultimate goal is to use your embryos with a gestational carrier, the destination of your embryos deserves additional attention.
Your embryo-storage decision may be the first step in a much larger family-building plan. The laws governing gestational surrogacy and parentage vary from state to state, and the legal requirements in the jurisdiction where your surrogate will carry the pregnancy may affect your planning.
For intended parents who are moving embryos in preparation for surrogacy, I recommend looking at the entire legal journey—not just the embryo shipment.
The question is not merely whether a clinic can receive your embryos. It is whether the move makes sense in light of where you intend to have your baby and how you plan to establish legal parentage.
A Simple Checklist Before You Move Your Embryos
Before scheduling transportation, make sure you have addressed:
- Authority: Who has the legal authority to authorize the transfer?
- Consent: Does everyone whose consent is required agree to the move?
- Agreements: Have you reviewed your IVF consents and embryo disposition/storage agreements?
- Changes in circumstances: Have there been a divorce, separation, death, or other event since the embryos were created?
- Destination: What state or country will receive the embryos?
- Future plans: Does that jurisdiction support your intended family-building plan?
- Donor documentation: If donor gametes were used, does the receiving clinic have the required records?
- Storage: What agreement will govern the embryos at the new facility?
- Death or incapacity: What happens if an intended parent dies or becomes incapacitated?
- Surrogacy: If you intend to use a gestational carrier, does the embryo’s new location make sense for your parentage plan?
- International transfers: If embryos are crossing an international border, have the additional legal and regulatory requirements been reviewed?
Don’t Move the Embryos First and Ask the Legal Questions Later
When you have spent years, money, and emotional energy creating embryos, moving them can feel like a straightforward logistical task.
But embryos are not just another item being shipped from one facility to another. The agreements surrounding them—and the laws governing your family-building plans—matter.
Before you authorize a transfer, take the time to understand who controls the embryos, what your existing agreements say, and whether the jurisdiction where they are going is consistent with your plans for using them.
At Oleaga Law LLC, I help intended parents navigate the legal issues surrounding assisted reproduction, embryo disposition, donor conception, and gestational surrogacy. I am admitted in New York, Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire and work with local counsel when a matter involves another jurisdiction.
If you are changing fertility clinics, relocating, moving embryos across state or international borders, or preparing for a future surrogacy journey, consider getting legal advice before the embryos are transported—not after a problem arises.
