COLOMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Central Ohio couple has set a record of in vitro fertilization delivery, apparently making history after becoming parents of babies frozen as embryos more than 30 years ago.
Born in London, Ohio on July 26th to Lindsey and Tim Pierce, Ohio, Abundance announced the world’s entrance to Thaddeus Daniel Pierce in a news release. The clinic run by Dr. John Gordon said the boy “develops from embryos that have been cryopreserved over 30 years (11, 148 days) and becomes the embryo he was born.”
Dr. Gordon also reportedly helped parents of healthy twins born in 2022, born in 2022, 30 years after embryo storage.
“We were roughly born, but we’re both fine,” Lindsay told MIT Technology Review. “He’s so cold. We have this precious baby because we are in awe!”
After dealing with infertility for seven years, Pierce’s success story began about two years ago. The couple shared on social media about their decision to employ “snowflake baby” referring to the adoption of embryos or embryos donated by others. According to the MIT Technology Review, the embryo that eventually developed into Thaddeus was one of four frozen in 1994 by a couple who successfully pregnant using only one of the fertilized eggs. The other three were kept by their mothers for years before donated to the Snowflake Embryo Adoption Program in 2022.
“The baby has a 30-year-old sister,” Lindsay said.
The pair transfer procedure took place in November 2024 at Rejoice Clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee. The remaining three embryos survived the delicate thawing process by IVF Lab supervisor and embryologist Sarah Atkinson. The clinic said preparation of slowly frozen embryos requires “complex handling that most clinics don’t want to or can’t do.” One embryo stopped growing before migration. The other two were implanted, and one brought Pierce’s healthy newborn.
“This is more than a record, it’s proof that with the right expertise, every embryo has the potential to live,” Gordon said. “Our team has spent years refined specialized thawing and transfer protocols, so families like Pierce can have children who prayed.”
Rejoice also holds previous records of the longest frozen embryo, resulting in the birth of the birth. According to the clinic, in 2022, couples had frozen embryonic twins for nearly 30 years or 10, 905 days.
“We didn’t go to that because we thought we were going to break the record,” Lindsay said. “We just wanted a baby.”
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