BABY BORN FROM 30-YEAR-OLD EMBRYO BREAKS RECORD

About 1.5 million frozen embryos are thought to exist in the US, but only a small percentage of those that are not used are given to other needy families. A 30-year-old embryo was used to create the baby boy that an Ohio couple gave birth to, making medical history, according to the MIT Technology Review. The embryo was "adopted" by Lindsey and Tim Pierce, new parents, from Linda Archerd, 62, who had IVF in the early 1990s with her ex-husband. Archerd had three embryos remaining after their fertility adventure produced a daughter who is now 30 years old. She was given custody of the embryos during her divorce from her husband, and she kept up with the yearly storage charge.

However, she was unsure about what to do next as menopause drew near.

She chose not to donate anonymously because she wanted to see the child who would eventually be born and learned about "adoption" of embryos. Donors can choose where their embryo will be put under this method, which is mainly operated by Christian organisations. However, since they were developed in 1994, there have been concerns over the viability and successful implantation of embryos that were so old.

Archerd eventually located the Snowflakes program, which was willing to accept her embryos and was run by the Nightlight Christian Adoptions organisation. The Pierces, who had been on a reproductive journey for seven years, also joined the program at the same time. They were eventually paired with Archerd. Lindsey says, "We thought it was wild." "We were unaware that embryos were frozen so long ago."

The Pierces enrolled in an IVF clinic in Tennessee that specialises in the technique because implanting a 30-year-old embryo can be difficult, depending on how it was stored. The facility, which is run by reproductive endocrinologist Dr. John Gordon, aims to minimise the quantity of embryos that are stored.

Two of Archerd's three frozen embryos survived and were implanted in Lindsay. After one was successfully implanted, a healthy baby boy named Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born on July 26, 2025. Given that his embryo was produced when his parents were only toddlers, he currently holds the record for being the "oldest baby."

The Pierces have given Acherd pictures of Thaddeus, but she hasn't met him yet. "When Lindsey sent me his photos, the first thing I saw was how much he resembled my daughter as a baby," she adds. "There is no question that they are siblings once I compared them side by side in my baby book."