Compassionate Transfer

A compassionate transfer is a method of dealing with the remaining embryos created during in vitro fertilization (IVF) where any “left-over” embryos are transferred to a uterus when they are highly unlikely to implant and develop into a pregnancy.

The process was created to address the moral, ethical, and religious opposition some people have to embryo disposal after IVF.

Having the extra embryos transferred at a time when they are highly unlikely to result in pregnancy can provide a feeling that the embryos died in a more “natural” way, similar to a miscarriage. This allows some people to feel that the decision was ultimately made by nature, rather than the individual.

Compassionate transfer is a divisive procedure that not all fertility clinics will support for ethical reasons. One 2009 article estimated that fewer than 5%of clinics in the U.S. offered the procedure.