National Embryo Donation Centre

What National Embryo Donation Centre does

The National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) is a Tennessee-based nonprofit founded in 2003 that operates the largest embryo donation and adoption program in the United States, matching donor embryos from completed IVF cycles with recipient families. It is led by President Dr. Jeffrey Keenan, a reproductive endocrinologist, and operates a headquarters in Knoxville with an affiliated clinic network that includes Southeastern Fertility Center (which performs embryo transfers in a Joint Commission-accredited lab) and a Michigan affiliate clinic. The service spans the full adoption stack: medical screening, home study review via Christian Adoption Consultants, donor-recipient matching, legal coordination, open or closed donation agreement mediation, and embryo transfer. Donor families pay no fees; recipient families pay an adoption fee pursuant to a published schedule (NEDA_Fee_Schedule_Feb_2026.pdf), and the organization is supplemented by federal grant funding for public education and tax-deductible donations.

The organization serves two primary customer segments: infertile couples seeking to experience pregnancy and childbirth through adopted embryos, and IVF families with remaining frozen embryos who wish to donate rather than store indefinitely. NEDC differentiates on three measurable claims: largest embryo selection in any program, a 54% pregnancy rate in the most recent reporting year, and over two decades of continuous operation with the ability to maintain long-term donor-recipient information sharing. Supporting offerings include a library of children's books on embryo adoption and an extensive collection of personal family stories used as top-of-funnel content, alongside significant national media coverage (NBC, ABC, NYT, BBC, CNN, Washington Post).

The business model is direct-to-consumer and faith-based. Patients apply online or via a toll-free line, with no waiting list, and the matching system filters by donor characteristics including ethnicity and medical history. From a market structure standpoint, the U.S. is estimated to hold roughly 1.5 million frozen embryos, and NEDC has received over 2,500 sets through its history. Revenue mechanics combine fee-for-service adoption payments, donor-funded grants, and charitable contributions, with two-decade operating history and a small core team of 10-15 staff.

Name

National Embryo Donation Centre

Legal name

National Embryo Donation Center

Website

https://embryodonation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Embryo Donation Center is a Knoxville, Tennessee-based nonprofit that matches donated frozen embryos from completed IVF cycles with infertile recipient families, operating the largest embryo adoption program in the United States with a 54% pregnancy rate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reproductive Health Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Blood, Organ & Tissue Donation Organizations (BPAGACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Embryo adoption services
• Embryo donation programs
• Nonprofit fertility services
• Assisted reproduction matching
• Cryopreserved embryo transfer

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Embryo Adoption Services: Fee-based services for embryo adoption recipients including medical screening, legal processes, matching services, and transfer procedures. Donors pay no fees - all costs are covered by the organization. Fee schedule available (NEDC_Fee_Schedule_Feb_2026.pdf).
2. Embryo Donation Processing: Services provided to donors including storage, medical record handling, infectious disease testing, and embryo shipping coordination at no cost to donors

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The NEDC is a nonprofit organization that facilitates embryo donation and adoption by matching donor couples with recipient couples. Recipient couples pay fees for adoption-related medical screening, legal processes, matching, and embryo transfer procedures, while donor couples receive embryo donation services at no cost. The organization also provides home study screening, Open Donation Agreement mediation, and supporting resources including educational children's books.

Product overview

The National Embryo Donation Center operates as a single, unified nonprofit service offering focused on embryo donation and adoption. The core service is the Embryo Adoption Program, which facilitates the matching of donated frozen embryos with recipient families. Supporting offerings include the Children's Books on Embryo Adoption sub-product line to help families discuss the topic with children, and the Embryo Adoption Stories collection featuring testimonials from families who have completed the process.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Embryo Adoption Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 54% pregnancy rate in most recent reporting year - highest in the nation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Southeastern Fertility CentercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe NEDC's partner medical clinic that performs embryo transfers and medical procedures. Their clinical team includes Lab Director Lisa Dorman and Clinic Nurse Lisa Rochelle. The affiliated lab is accredited by The Joint Commission.
• Fertility Center MI (Michigan Affiliate)secondaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAffiliate clinic location in Michigan providing regional access to NEDC services outside of Tennessee.
• Christian Adoption ConsultantscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSocial work group that reviews all home studies for adoptive couples and mediates Open Donation Agreements (ODAs) between donors and recipients. Allows for seamless experience without expensive attorneys or other intermediaries.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CNY Fertility: Large multi-clinic fertility provider offering IVF and donor services with national reach; adjacent competitor in assisted reproduction and a potential source of donor embryos for NEDC's program.
• American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM): The dominant professional society for reproductive medicine in the U.S., setting clinical and ethical standards for IVF and embryo handling; an indirect influencer and adjacent authority in NEDC's operating space.
• RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association: Established national advocacy and education organization for people facing infertility; reaches a substantially overlapping patient population through awareness, support groups, and provider referrals.
• Shady Grove Fertility (Unified Women's Healthcare): One of the largest U.S. fertility clinic networks; a source of IVF patients and surplus embryos, and an indirect competitor for downstream family-building services.

Direct peers

• Nightlight Christian Adoptions: The original creator of the embryo adoption concept; operates the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program and was the parent lineage from which NEDC's embryo donation work emerged, offering the closest direct service parallel.
• Miracles Waiting: Online embryo matching and donation matching service connecting donor families with recipient families; competes for the same donor and recipient pools as NEDC.
• Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program: A leading competing embryo adoption program run by Nightlight Christian Adoptions, offering matching, home studies, and open adoption options directly comparable to NEDC's core offering.

Emerging players

• Tinina Q. Cade Foundation: Nonprofit that provides grants for infertility treatment and family building, including embryo adoption costs; competes for the same intended-parent demographic via financial-assistance programming.
• Creating a Family: Adoption and infertility education organization offering resources, podcasts, and counseling that intersect with NEDC's audience of intended parents exploring embryo adoption.

Others

• World Egg Bank: Donor-egg bank operating in the broader assisted-reproduction ecosystem; comparable in biological-material logistics, donor screening, and cryostorage, though focused on eggs rather than embryos.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/embryodonation
• Xx.com/embryodonation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-embryo-donation-center

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Embryo Donation Centre