Congélé in 1994, located in 2024, born in 2025: Thaddeus Daniel Pierce holds the world record of the oldest human embryo to give birth to a child.
A baby in 2025 from an embryo designed in 1994
On July 26, 2025, Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born in Ohio. Which makes him a unique baby in the world: he was born from an embryo created via IVF in 1994, then remained frozen for more than three decades. His parents, Lindsey and Tim Pierce, married for seven years and faced with infertility, have chosen to adopt an embryo stored for 30 years. “”We were not trying to break a record; We just wanted to have a baby“explains Lindsey Pierce, quoted by the MIT Technology Review.
The adoption was made possible through the National Embryo Donation Center, an American Christian agency specializing in un demanded embryos. The embryo, one of a group of four designed by another woman via IVF in 1994, had been kept in liquid nitrogen at -196 ° C. One had been implemented at the time, the other three remained frozen until they are made available for adoption.
A medical feat made possible by cryoconsecree
The clinic joins Fertility, in Tennessee, agreed to carry out the implantation. Among the three embryos available, only one survived the thawing. It is the one that allowed Thaddeus to be born. According to Dr. John Gordon, director of the clinic, “The duration during which an embryo is frozen does not seem to have a significant impact on its viability“Reported MIT Technology Review.
This birth exceeds the previous record set in 2020, when a baby was born from a 27 -year -old embryo. Modern Cryoconservation techniques now allow human embryos to remain viable for several decades. According to specialists, this presents no particular risk for the health of the baby at birth.
A scientific advance, and a still marginal reality
If this extreme case remains rare, it reveals the growing capacities of modern reproductive medicine. The birth of Thaddeus demonstrates the reliability of long -lasting cryoconservation, while highlighting the logistical, legal and ethical issues of these “orphaned” embryos.
In 2024, the number of frozen human embryos in the United States was estimated at almost a million. The majority will never be used. The choice to donate it or not, the shelf life, or their possible destruction, vary according to the policies of the clinics and the convictions of the families. In France, the legal framework is different with a 5 -year conservation, renewable by the two members of the couple. In case of disagreement, it is ended for the storage of embryos. The two members of the couple can consent in writing to the fact that the embryos preserved are welcomed by another couple without knowing their identity.
The story of Thaddeus Daniel Pierce is not an isolated medical curiosity. It illustrates a very real technical possibility, but which, for the moment, remains an exception in the current practice of fertility clinics.