NEED TO KNOW
A baby was born from an embryo that was in storage for over 30 years
Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born to parents Lindsey and Tim Pierce on July 26
The embryo was originally created in 1994
A baby has been born from an embryo that was in storage for over 30 years.
Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born to parents Lindsey and Tim Pierce on Saturday, July 26, from an embryo that was originally created in 1994, according to MIT Technology Review.
“We had a rough birth, but we are both doing well now,” Lindsey, 35, told the magazine.
Detailing that her newborn is “so chill,” the new mom added: “We are in awe that we have this precious baby.”
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A woman holding a baby (stock image).
Thaddeus broke the record for a baby born from the oldest embryo. The previous record was held by twins in Oregon, who were born in 2022 from embryos frozen 30 years prior, according to The Times.
MIT Technology Review reported that the embryo used to conceive Thaddeus was stored for 30 and a half years.
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Lindsey and Tim, both Ohio residents, got the embryo from Linda Archerd, who is now 62, through Nightlight Christian Adoptions agency’s Open Hearts program.
Archerd told MIT Technology Review she had tried in vitro fertilization (IVF) when she was attempting to get pregnant with her then-husband. They created four embryos in May 1994, one of which resulted in a baby girl.
The other three embryos were kept in storage for over three decades.
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When Archerd began menopause, she started looking into what to do with her embryos, but she found that many agencies “wouldn’t even take my information.”
Her embryos were instead entered into Nightlight’s matching system in 2022, and they were later put into the Open Hearts program for embryos that are more difficult to place with families.
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Lindsey and Tim signed up for the program after trying for a baby for seven years. The couple told MIT Technology Review they were open to “anything and everything” to become parents.
As for being matched with Archerd’s embryos, Lindsey said, “We thought it was wild. We didn’t know they froze embryos that long ago.”
Read the original article on People
