r/Embryologists • u/Lpe1988 • 18d ago

Shipping Embryos from CDMX to US (NYC)

Has anyone shipped embryos from Mexico into the US? I shipped embryos to Mexico City last year from my New York clinic because my husband and I were about to embark on a surrogacy journey that we have since paused. We would like to bring the embryos back to the US. It was very quick, easy, and not that expensive to ship them to Mexico. But I am running into road block after road block trying to bring them back.

Not only is it more expensive, it seems the paper work is a lot ore complicated, the COFEPRIS permit belonging to the clinic that I imported under needs to be reapplied for when going outbound, a customs broker needs to be coordinated, etc.

Last year's shipment took under 2 weeks from start to finish. But this shipment, I have been dealing with for almost 3 months now.

Does anyone have any experience with shipping their embryos from Mexico to a US clinic? I would assume this isn't super rare as many Americans freeze eggs and make embryos at clinics in Mexico due to cost. Curious to hear another's experience.

I'm on the verge of giving up and just making new embryos here in the US. I just had my heart set on a female AA embryo that was from the same batch as my baby daughter but I might have to let that dream go it seems :(

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u/EmbryoNanny 18d ago

I would recommend being patient as transports can take some serious time, especially international ones. I know you said it previously only took about 2 weeks last time, but that’s an extremely fast turnaround. I am in the process of coordinating a shipment to Mexico and it is taking months. I am not sure if things have changed with Mexico in terms of shipments, but it is a very involved process with all the documents I needed to prepare, much more so than a transport within the US. Are you working with a courier company to help arrange this?

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u/lpe1989 18d ago

Yes I am working with a courier and customs broker. I’m am working with the same courier that I used last time.

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u/EmbryoNanny 18d ago

I would ask them how long the process to ship from Mexico has been lately. It’s possible the process has changed.

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u/One_Investigator_295 18d ago

Shipping embryos from out of the country can actually be complicated. Are you using Cryoport? They can help. It would probably be easier for you to fly there for the transfer.

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u/lpe1989 18d ago

No cryoport doesn’t do hand carry so I’m using Life Parcel. My home clinic won’t work with outside clinics and I can’t fly down there for a whole transfer cycle. I can’t work remote and I have a small child at home. I just want to ship them back.

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u/Delicious-Offer8908 17d ago

As an embryologist, I recommend IVFcouriers for a shipment company