JAKARTA - An extraordinary story comes from Ohio, United States, where a couple successfully gave birth to a baby boy from an embryo that had been frozen for more than 30 years. The baby, Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, was born on July 26, 2025, and is now the oldest baby ever born from a long-term frozen embryo.
This embryo was first created in 1994, when a woman named Linda Archerd underwent IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) after six years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive. From this procedure, she successfully obtained four embryos. One embryo was used and resulted in the birth of her daughter, while the other three were frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen tanks.
"I call them 'my three little hopes,'" the now 62-year-old recalled, as quoted by the MIT Technology Review.
Although she initially hoped to use the embryos in the future, life led her to a different decision. After a divorce and entering menopause, Linda decided the embryos deserved a chance at life, but didn't want to give them away.
"They're part of my DNA and my daughter's siblings'. I wanted to know where they went," she said.
Linda ultimately opted for embryo adoption, rather than donation. She partnered with Nightlight Christian Adoptions, an organization that manages an embryo adoption program called Snowflakes, and requested that the embryos be placed with a Christian, white, American couple.
However, due to the embryos' age and the lengthy storage methods used, most clinics were reluctant to accept them. Many clinics doubted whether embryos over 30 years old would survive the thawing process and develop healthily.
But luck was on Linda's side when the embryos were finally accepted by Rejoice Fertility, a clinic that accepts embryos of all ages and conditions.
Meanwhile, Lindsey and Tim Pierce, a couple from London, Ohio, had been trying for seven years to conceive. They considered adoption, then discovered Snowflakes and decided to participate. They didn't have many criteria for the embryos they wanted to accept; they were open to all possibilities.
"We checked all the boxes. We thought this was crazy; we didn't even know embryos could be frozen that long ago," Lindsey said.
After a lengthy process, the couple was reunited with Linda's embryos, which had been frozen since 1994.
The embryo thawing process wasn't without risks. The embryos, stored in the early 1990s, used a slow-freezing method, unlike the modern method known as vitrification. This older method is high-risk, as it can form ice crystals that damage the embryos.
Sarah Atkinson, head of embryology at Rejoice Fertility, was responsible for the thawing process. In one case, she had to open a glass vial containing embryos with a diamond knife inside a nitrogen tank. The shards of glass cut her face.
"Regarding that glass vial, I even wrote a note to myself, 'It could explode, must wear face and eye protection.'" Sarah said.
Fortunately, in this case, all three embryos survived the thawing process, although only two were implanted into Lindsey's uterus. Of those two, one grew into a healthy fetus, now named Thaddeus.
For Linda, that first encounter through a photo touched her heart.
"When Lindsey sent me the photo, the first thing I noticed was how similar Thaddeus' face was to my daughter as a baby," she said.
"I went through old albums and compared them; there was no doubt they were siblings," she continued.
She hasn't had the chance to meet them in person yet, but hopes to one day.
"It would be a dream come true. He's perfect," Linda said, overcome with emotion.
Lindsey and Tim never imagined their story would become history.
"We didn't set out to break any records. We just wanted to have a child," Lindsey said, her voice filled with gratitude.
But out of love, hope, and unwavering faith, Thaddeus was born, a baby from the past who now lives in the present, bringing new hope and living proof that miracles can come in forms we never expected.
“Every embryo deserves a chance to live. The only embryo that will definitely not become a baby is the one that was never given the chance,” said Dr. John Gordon, Rejoice Fertility.
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