On July 26, Lindsey and Tim Pierce, who live in Ohio, welcomed a baby boy. What makes this birth special is that it was from an embryo that was frozen in 1994, more than 30 years ago, according to a report in the MIT Technology Review. The embryo was frozen by Linda Archerd (62) and her husband while undergoing IVF treatment. But after their first child was successfully born, the couple divorced, leaving behind 3 frozen embryos.
Frozen embryos cannot be disposed of legally, so Archerd donated all three to Lindsey and Tim Pierce. Two embryos were implanted into Lindsey's uterus after one embryo failed to thaw.
The three embryos were frozen for 11,480 days (30.5 years), making them the longest-frozen before being born as a baby. The previous record was held by Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway, who had a baby born after embryos were frozen for 10,905 days.
In 1984, Zoe Leyland became the first baby born from a frozen embryo. In this case, the embryo was frozen for 2 months before being implanted into the mother's uterus. It is estimated that between 350,000-500,000 babies have been born using the embryo freezing technique.