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Embryo Frozen in 1994 Generates Healthy Baby in the USA, Setting World Record and Rekindling Debate on Ethics and In-Vitro Fertilization
On July 26, in Ohio, in the United States, little Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born. The most important thing: he was conceived from an embryo frozen over 30 years ago, in 1994. With this, the case secured the world record for the oldest human embryo to result in a successful birth.
The embryo was created in the 1990s during an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment for Linda Archerd.
At the time, she obtained four embryos. One of them resulted in a girl, now 30 years old. The other three were kept in cryopreservation.
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Over time, Linda divorced and retained custody of the remaining embryos. She then decided to make them available for adoption.
The choice of the couple who would adopt the embryo was made in a participatory manner, as allowed by the so-called “embryo adoption”.
Lindsey and Tim Pierce, who had been struggling to have children for seven years, were the chosen ones. They decided to give the frozen embryo a chance and entrusted the procedure to a specialized clinic.
Clinic with Religious Vision
The treatment was conducted by a team led by reproductive endocrinologist John Gordon. Known for adopting religious principles in clinical practice, Gordon advocates that every human embryo deserves the opportunity to live.
According to him, “the only embryo that cannot result in a healthy baby is the one that is never transferred.” The statement was made in an interview with the newspaper The Guardian.
IVF Expansion
According to the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), IVF accounted for about 2% of births in the USA in 2023. In the United Kingdom, the rate reached 3.1%.
The birth of Thaddeus brings to light ethical and emotional issues regarding the preservation of embryonic life and the possible choices in the face of infertility.
With information from Metrópoles.
