30 years old frozen embryo days passed, twins came into the world

Washington. A US couple has been blessed with twins from embryos frozen for 30 years. The embryos were stored in liquid nitrogen at -128 °C since April 22, 1992. It is being claimed that this is a new record for the birth of live children from embryos kept frozen for the longest time.

According to the BBC report, Rachel Ridgeway, the mother of four children, gave birth to these twins in Oregon, USA. There is one boy and one girl among them. The girl has been named Lydia, while the boy has been named Timothy. Their birth weight was 2.5 and 2.92 kg respectively. Rachel Ridgeway arrived at the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in the US with her husband Philip Ridgeway. The couple demanded that they want the same embryo, which has been waiting for the longest time. After the birth of the twins, Philip said, 'It is nothing less than a miracle.' The previous record for the birth of a child from the longest frozen embryo was also made by NEDC in 2020. Then a child named Molly Gibson was born from an embryo frozen for 27 years. More than 1,200 babies have been born with the help of embryos donated by NEDC.

According to NEDC Medical Director Dr. John David Gordon, 1.5 to 3 million embryos have been stored in the US. When people adopt IVF techniques, more embryos can be created in this process. Extra embryos are frozen in liquid nitrogen for future use. Some of these are used for research and training in reproductive medicine, while some are donated to people who want children.

The embryos that resulted in the birth of twins were frozen for thirty years and were donated by an anonymous couple. Embryo donation, like the donation of other human organs, must comply with US Food-Drug Administration regulations. Before donation, it is checked that there is no infectious disease in the embryo. New frozen embryos are in higher demand in the US than older ones.