Testimonials

Kansas City’s Only Egg Donor and Surrogacy Agency Is One Year Old!

Happy Anniversary Pathways To Parenthood!

One year ago, in May 2013 Pathways To Parenthood started the amazing journey of serving families, egg donors, and surrogates.  The journey actually started long before with a dream of providing intended parents, egg donors, and gestational surrogates with a local agency that was professional, compassionate, and hands-on.  It was important to me that all people we would work with felt valued and important.

My passion for helping others build and grow their family continues to grow when I see the joy that others feel when realizing their dream come true.  It is also amazing to see how our egg donors and gestational surrogates feel after helping others in such a special and unique way.

I look forward to continuing to provide top-notch service and compassion to our clients, egg donors, and surrogates in the years to come!

Kerry Christifano

M.A., LCPC

Founder of Pathways To Parenthood

Family Building With Egg Donation in Kansas City: Fresh vs. Frozen

When deciding to use an egg donor to build and grow your family, now you have the choice of doing an in vitro fertilization cycle with an egg donor you have selected as your donor who cycles with you, or purchasing frozen eggs from an egg bank.

The option of using frozen donor eggs only became available as an option in October of 2012 so it is a relatively new area in the field of reproductive medicine.  Any research you read as the benefits/risk of using frozen eggs is based on limited data done in a short period of time.  The potential long-term risks and negative consequences are unknown at this point.  Egg banks are certainly not going to give you any information to dissuade you from buying eggs from their egg bank.  So as with anything else in the medical field, it is important be gather information from reliable sources that are not trying to sell you anything.  Educate yourself as to the pros and cons of each, because there are pros and cons to each option, and make the choice that best fits your needs.

One source to gather information about building your family through egg donation, and compare doing a fresh vs. frozen cycle is RESOLVE.  The following link will take you to an article that does a great job of explaining the differences of each, and the pros and cons of each.  You can find the article here at:

https://allpathsfb.org/fresh-donor-eggs-vs-frozen-donor-eggs/

For information about doing a fresh donor egg cycle, contact us at https://pathwaystoparenthood.com.

Egg Donation in Kansas City: What is the first step for intended parents?

When a woman or couples first hear the recommendation from their physician that using an egg donor to build and grow their family is an option they should consider, knowing where to start is the first thought many people have.  Although there are many important steps in the process, the first important step is allowing time to understand all of the emotions that come along with hearing those words.

It is normal to feel a variety of difficult emotions, and one of those feelings is grief.  Most women and couples don’t understand that grieving the loss of having a genetic child is something that all people feel when they learn that using their own eggs (or sperm) is not a viable option.  It is a loss to the individual, but also to the couple, as a husband and wife must grieve together that their combined genetics to have a child is not the path to parenthood for them.

The time that it takes for an individual or couple to grieve so they can move forward is extremely variable.  It can take a few weeks, a few months, and sometimes even longer.  Counseling can be very helpful while going through this stage of the process. You will know when you are ready to move forward.  Maybe you will decide using an egg donor is not the right option for you.  There are other ways to build and grow your family so take the time you need to figure out which option is best for you.

For more information about using egg donation to build and grow your family, contact us today at www.pathwaystoparenthood.com.

Pathways To Parenthood: National Infertility Awareness Week

The 25th Resolve National Infertility Awareness week is April 20-26th.  Pathways To Parenthood recognizes the tremendous effort the Resolve organization has made to bring the awareness of infertility to the forefront of our society.  Their theme this year is “Resolve To Know More” which is a great reminder that the goal of increasing awareness and support for those that experience infertility and by those who experience infertility is an ongoing effort.

If you are not aware of the Resolve organization and you or someone you love is experiencing infertility and reproductive challenges, you would benefit greatly by visiting their website at resolve.org.  Reach out  andlearn more about their organization today.

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, established in 1974, is a non-profit organization with the only established, nationwide network mandated to promote reproductive health and to ensure equal access to all family building options for men and women experiencing infertility or other reproductive disorders.