A total of five embryos were frozen on April 22, 1992. They gave birth to twins just 30 years later,
on October 31, 2022, making them arguably the longest-frozen embryos to ever give birth to living children.
The infants were born to Portland, Oregon native Philip Ridgeway and his wife Rachel. The couple was looking to grow their family and learned
about embryo donation at the religious National Embryo Donation Center. The couple already had four children, ages 8, 6, 3, and almost 2. The institute defines
embryo donation as the freezing of excess embryos by people who undergo IVF. Then, these embryos are cryopreserved
for later use, donated for scientific research, or donated to those who want to start a family.
Even while the technique is frequently called ‘embryo adoption,’fertility specialist Dr. Sigal Klipstein
argues that the phrase is inaccurate because it refers to a legal action while embryo donation is a medical operation.
But Philip and Rachel only wanted more kids; they had no interest in making history. According to Philip,
‘We weren’t looking to get the embryos that have been frozen the longest in the world.’ We merely desired those who had waited the longest.
According to Rachel, ‘going into this, we knew that we could trust God to do whatever he had so sovereignly planned and that their age really had no factor.’
She requested the transfer after three of the five embryos from the original donors—a guy in his early 50s and a 34-year-old woman—were
shown to be still viable. Rachel may consider herself one of the fortunate few with a live birth rate of 25% to 40% for frozen embryos.
Experts claim that when embryos are frozen and kept at temperatures of 200 degrees below zero, they virtually always remain alive.
A sperm, an egg, or an embryo that has been frozen in liquid nitrogen doesn’t appear to have ever experienced time.
It reminds me of the Rip Van Winkle story. Dr. Jim Toner, a fertility specialist, claimed that the body just wakes up 30 years
later without being aware that it was asleep. The age of the woman who gave the eggs is what actually makes a significant impact.
The Ridgeways’ twin Lydias and son Timothy broke the previous record for longest-frozen embryos to give birth to live children.
It was formerly held by Molly Gibson, a child of Tina and Ben Gibson born in 2020 from an embryo that had been
stored in cryopreservation for 27 years. Emma, Molly’s sister, was similarly conceived from an embryo that had been stored for 24 years.
According to Philip, ‘There is something mind-boggling about it.’ God created Lydia and Timothy when I was five years old, and he has continued to protect their lives ever since.
When the embryos were frozen, Rachel was only 3 years old. According to Rachel, who gave thanks for her
new blessings, ‘They were healthy babies. God has truly shown his grace to us by supporting us at every turn.
The pair put their faith in God, Rachel said, and had no desire to grab attention with their choice.
The parent remarked, ‘It was just a matter of whether or not that was in God’s plans.’
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