In Tennessee, twin babies were born from embryos that were frozen more than 30 years ago. This most likely establishes a new record for the longest-frozen embryos to result in a successful birth. The embryos were kept in liquid nitrogen at around -128C (-200F) in April, 1992. The twins were born on the October 31, 2022 to Oregon resident Rachel Ridgeway, a mother of four. Philip Ridgeway, the father, called it “mind-boggling.” He was five years old when the babies were conceived. Mom was three years old. 

According to the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC), a private, faith-based organization that claims to have assisted in the birth of more than 1,200 children from donated embryos, the Ridgeways established a new record.

Molly Gibson, who held the previous record for NEDC, was born from a 27-year-old frozen embryo in 2020. Dr. John David Gordon, who carried out the embryo transfer, stated that adopting these embryos “should encourage patients who question if someone would be prepared to adopt the embryos that they developed 5, 10, or 20 years ago. That’s a resounding yes,” he says. 

The twin embryos were produced through IVF from an unnamed pair. The man, who was in his 50s, apparently relied on an egg donor who was 34 years old. The pair donated the embryos to the NEDC in Knoxville, Tennessee so that another couple may utilize them after having stored them at a reproductive facility on the US west coast.

The thawing and transferring to the uterus were then carried out early this year by embryologists at Southeastern Fertility, a partner facility of the NEDC. The NEDC expressed its desire to urge others to discover the blessings of embryo adoption for themselves. It is the first child the Ridgeways, who already have four other children ranging in age from one to eight, have conceived through IVF or a donor.

Dr. Jim Toner, an Atlanta fertility physician, said, ”It doesn’t seem like a sperm or an egg or embryo stored in liquid nitrogen ever experiences time. It’s like that Rip Van Winkle thing. It just wakes up 30 years later, and it never knew it was asleep.”

Philip Ridgeway told CNN  that it’s amazing that his newborn twins were actually conceived when he himself was five years old. He said that even though the twins are his youngest children, in a way they are also the couple’s oldest children.