Incredible moment a woman meets triplets she ‘donated’ 20 years later
A mother who donated her embryos after welcoming twins via in vitro fertilization (IVF) has opened up about the emotional moment she met the resulting triplets 20 years later.
Brooke Martin, 56, of Houston, Texas, battled infertility in her early 20s when she and her husband, Chris, were first trying to conceive. After undergoing surgery to remove a blockage in their fallopian tubes and suffering an ectopic pregnancy, they turned to IVF.
The couple, who lived in Nashville, Tennessee at the time, implanted two embryos and had twins, Matthew and Christopher, in 2000. They knew their family was complete, but they still had eight frozen embryos.
‘The fertility clinic kept calling [asking] if we wanted to keep freezing them, and we really felt like our family was complete with both of them,” Brooke told the daily star. “I was 34 when I had them, so I didn’t want eight more babies.”
Brooke and Chris Martin, from Houston, Texas, donated their embryos and two decades later met their biological triplets, Lauren, Thomas and Peter (LR).
In 2000, Brooke and Chris welcomed twin boys, Matthew and Christopher (pictured with their mother), and made the decision to donate their remaining eight embryos.
The couple’s biological triplets (pictured) were born to Trey and Becky Monroe in 2002.
They were given the option of using the embryos, letting them thaw, donating them to science, or returning them to the fertility clinic in Nashville.
Brooke and Chris knew that they did not want to undergo IVF again, which could lead to another series of multiple pregnancies.
‘When you go through IVF, you don’t just put a [embryo] inside, you put at least two inside,’ he explained. “So the idea of having twins or even triplets, there was no way.”
The mother said her decision to donate the remaining embryos was “easy” after what they went through to have their twin sons.
“When you go through these kinds of things, you have a whole new view on embryos,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine, as a mother, not letting them have a chance at life.
‘If they had chosen two different embryos to be my children and destroyed the others, those would be my children. And if I destroy the others, that would be the triplets.’
For years, Brooke and Chris wondered if they had other biological children, but it wasn’t until nearly two decades later that they found out for sure.
Brooke (pictured with her twins) told the Daily Star that her decision to donate the remaining embryos was an “easy one” after what they went through to have their children.
For years, Brooke and Chris wondered if their twins (pictured) had biological siblings.
Thomas, Peter, and Lauren (pictured) looked just like their twin brothers when they were kids.
The Monroe triplets are pictured with their mother, Becky, who died of cancer in 2020.
After his mother’s death, Thomas connected with one of Brooke’s cousins on 23andMe. He soon learned that Brooke was his biological mother.
In January 2021, a young man named Thomas Monroe contacted his cousin Tod on 23andMe and claimed to be related to him. He turned out to be the biological son of the Martins.
Brooke recalled the moment she saw Thomas’s photo on Facebook and realized he looked like a combination of her brother and their twin sons.
“I said, ‘That’s our son.'”
After exchanging emails with Thomas, she learned that he was one of three biological children. He and his sister, Lauren, and his brother, Peter, are triplets born to Trey and Becky Monroe in 2002.
“That was the biggest moment,” Brooke told the Daily Star of the discovery.
The Martins were curious about their biological triplets, but didn’t want to cross any boundaries with the parents who raised them.
They finally approached the brothers’ father, Trey, who was happy to welcome them into his family. Brooke shared that her only ‘regret’ was not being able to meet the triplet’s mother, Becky, who died of cancer in 2020.
Brooke (pictured with her twins) and her husband were curious about their biological triplets, but didn’t want to cross any boundaries with the parents who raised them.
The couple eventually reached out to the triplets’ father, Trey (pictured with his wife and children), who was happy to welcome them into his family.
As the families got to know each other, Lauren (pictured with Brooke) and Thomas attended the wedding of their biological brother Christopher.
Lauren, who is the spitting image of her birth mother, told Today that she knows her late mother would want her to be close with Brooke.
In July 2022, Trey and the triplets attended a Martin family reunion, which marked the first time they had met.
Brooke and Chris have been staying close to Thomas, Peter and Lauren and seeing them whenever they can. Twins and triplets (pictured) also have a strong bond
As the families got to know each other, the triplets were invited to Christopher’s wedding. Lauren and Thomas attended without Peter and they had an instant connection with their birth parents and twin brothers.
In July 2022, Trey and the triplets attended a Martin family reunion, which marked the first time they had met.
Brooke and Chris have been staying close to Thomas, Peter and Lauren and seeing them whenever they can. Twins and triplets also have a strong bond and stay connected on social media.
The mother, who is writing a book about her blended family, noted that Lauren even calls the twins her “big brothers.”
Last fall, triplets Martins and Monroe opened up about their relationship in an interview with Today.
“I’ve gotten pretty close with Brooke and I know my mom would want that,” Lauren said. “I was so grateful for the gift that Brooke and Chris gave her and my dad. We would not be here without them.
both families are sharing your story to raise awareness about embryo donation for adoption.
“I know there are a lot of ‘what ifs,'” Brooke told the outlet. “But there are some things that we have no control over, God is in control of that. And he looks at what he did.”