Baby born from embryo frozen over 30 years ago
An Ohio couple says that they have welcomed a baby boy who was born from an embryo that was frozen over 30 years ago.
Lindsey Pierce, 35, and her husband Tim Pierce, 34, of London, Ohio, are now parents to baby Thaddeus, who was born July 26, according to MIT Technology Review.
The Pierces told the publication they had been trying to conceive for seven years and "adopted" an embryo through an embryo adoption agency.
The embryo the Pierces adopted was obtained through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, in 1994, according to MIT Technology Review.
In the IVF process, ovulation is induced and eggs are removed from a patient's ovaries. The eggs are then fertilized with sperm outside of the body, and the resulting successful embryos are either placed in the patient's uterus in the hope of pregnancy or are stored in a laboratory for future use, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
After a successful embryo transfer using the adopted embryo, Lindsey Pierce became pregnant.
ABC News medical contributor Dr. Alok Patel, who was not involved in Lindsey Pierce's care, said the age of a frozen embryo is not necessarily a risk.
"If these eggs are frozen properly and they are thawed and pass screening, they can be just as healthy as an embryo created today," said Patel, a board-certified pediatrician.
The Pierces could not be reached for comment by ABC News. The couple told The Associated Press in a statement published Friday that their goal throughout the process was just to "have a baby."
“We didn’t go into this thinking about records -- we just wanted to have a baby,” Lindsey Pierce said, according to the AP.
