SAEDNEWS: A Pair of Twins Born in Tennessee from Embryos Frozen Over 30 Years Ago
According to BBC, a new world record may have been set for the longest-frozen embryos to result in the birth of healthy babies.
The embryos had been frozen in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius since April 22, 1992.
On October 31, Rachel Ridgeway, a mother of four, gave birth to the twins. Their father, Philip Ridgeway, described the birth as “amazing.”
The National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC), a non-profit religious organization that says it has helped bring over 1,200 babies to life using donated embryos, reports that the twins, named Lydia Anne and Timothy Ronald, likely set a new record.
The previous record holder was Mali Gibson, who was born in 2020 from an embryo frozen approximately 27 years earlier.
Dr. John David Gordon, who performed the embryo transfer, said, “Choosing to adopt these older embryos provides reassurance to patients who may hesitate to adopt embryos created 5, 10, or 20 years ago.”
The twins were originally created via IVF for an anonymous couple. The father was in his 50s, and a 34-year-old egg donor provided the eggs needed for the embryos.
The embryos were stored in a lab on the U.S. West Coast until 2007, when the couple donated them to the NEDC in Knoxville, Tennessee, so another family could use them.
Later, embryologists at the Southeastern Fertility Clinic, a partner of NEDC, thawed the embryos and transferred them into the mother’s womb earlier this year.
This marks the first time the Ridgeways, who have four other children aged 1 to 8, have had a child through IVF or donation.
Speaking to CNN from his home, Philip Ridgeway said, “God created Lydia and Timothy when I was five years old, and He has kept them alive ever since.”
“In a way, they are our oldest children, even though they are also our smallest,” he added. “The birth of these children is truly amazing.”
