An Ohio couple welcomed a healthy baby boy, Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, in October 2022 from an embryo that had been frozen for 31 years, setting a new world record for the longest-known successful embryo preservation leading to a live birth. The embryo, originally frozen in April 1992, resulted in the birth after being thawed and implanted in 2022.
The MIT Technology Review published a detailed exclusive report on July 29, 2025, which brought new attention to the case. While the birth was mentioned earlier in brief news stories in 2022, the recent information offers in-depth coverage
The parents, Rachel and Philip Ridgeway, adopted the embryo through the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC), a non-profit organization based in Knoxville, Tennessee, which facilitates embryo adoptions. The embryo, along with its genetically related siblings, had been donated by an anonymous couple who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the early 1990s and stored the embryos at approximately minus 196 degrees Celsius in liquid nitrogen.
The embryo, later named Anderson, was thawed and transferred to Rachel Ridgeway’s uterus by Dr. John David Gordon, a reproductive endocrinologist at the NEDC, in February 2022. Anderson’s twin, Lydia, was born from another embryo frozen at the same time. Both embryos had remained cryopreserved for over three decades before implantation. Anderson was born full-term in late October 2022.
This birth breaks the previous record set in 2020 by Molly Gibson, who was born from a 27-year-old frozen embryo. Molly had earlier broken the record held by her sister Emma, born from a 24-year-old embryo. With Anderson’s birth, the new record stands at 30 years and eight months.
The Ridgeways, who already had four biological children under the age of 10, chose embryo adoption to help bring unused embryos to life. The embryos were originally created for fertility treatment in 1992 but were never used and remained in frozen storage until being donated for adoption.
According to MIT Technology Review, the embryos were created using the egg of a 34-year-old woman and the sperm of a 40-year-old man. The identities of the biological parents remain anonymous, and they had initially donated five embryos for storage. In 2007, the embryos were moved to the NEDC and made available for adoption. The Ridgeways selected these embryos from a donor profile listing basic physical and health details.
Since its founding, the NEDC has facilitated over 1,200 births through embryo adoption. Dr. Gordon stated that embryos can remain viable for decades if stored under proper cryogenic conditions.
Experts noted that while the age of the embryo is notable, successful implantation depends more on the health of the recipient’s uterus than the length of storage. The birth highlights continued advancements in assisted reproductive technology and long-term cryopreservation.
Reference:
1. MIT Technology Review. “Record‑Breaking Baby Born from Embryo Frozen over 30 Years Old.” MIT Technology Review, July 29, 2025. https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/29/1120769/exclusive-record-breaking-baby-born-embryo-over-30-years-old/.
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