Woman, 26, Has Baby From 24-Year-Old Frozen Embryo

A 26-year-old Tennessee woman gave birth to a baby girl who was conceived as an embryo and frozen in 1992, possibly marking a record for the longest frozen human embryo that led to a successful birth.

Tina and Benjamin Gibson, an eastern Tennessee couple, always thought adoption is the path they would go down. In an interview with CNN, Tina Gibson said her husband has cystic fibrosis and infertility is common in men who have the disease.

"We had decided that we were more than likely going to adopt, and we were fine with that," Gibson told CNN.

Before they ever thought of embryo adoption, the Gibsons had fostered several children and had enjoyed doing so. The couple was headed on vacation and were dropping off their dog at Tina's parents' home when her father suggested the idea of embryo adoption.

Tina says she blew off the idea and the couple set off on their eight-hour car trip.

During the trip, neither Tina nor her husband could stop thinking about what her father suggested. She began doing some research on her phone and shared the information with her husband.

"I knew everything about it before I got off that vacation," she told CNN.

In August 2016, the couple submitted an application for embryo adoption and after some medical tests and a home study, the implantation procedure was performed in March. The procedure was administered by the National Embryo Donation Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The first donor profile the couple picked did not work out so they went with their second choice.

Only then did doctors tell her that it's a world record.

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On Nov. 25, Tina gave birth to Emma Wren. The baby weighed six pounds, eight ounces and measured 20 inches long.

"Prior to being transferred into Tina's uterus at the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in Knoxville earlier this year, Emma had been cryopreserved for more than 24 years," the NEDC said in a press release. "According to research staff at the University of Tennessee Preston Medical Library, baby Emma now holds the all-time record for the longest-frozen embryo to come to birth."

Emma was frozen on Oct. 14, 1992 and thawed by NEDC Lab Director Carol Sommerfelt on March 13, 2017.

"Do you realize I'm only 25? This embryo and I could have been best friends," Tina told the medical staff at NEDC when they told her the embryo's age, according to CNN. Tina is now 26.

Sommerfelt described the birth to CNN as "pretty exciting" considering how long the embryos had been frozen. Sommerfelt thawed three embryos that all came from the same anonymous donor and while all three were transferred to Tina, only one implanted.

While the embryo was frozen a little over 24 years ago, one expert told CNN that identifying the oldest known embryo is simply an impossibility. Dr. Zaher Merhi, director of IVF research and development at New Hope Fertility Center, said American companies are not required to report the age of an embryo to the government, only the outcome, so the records aren't available.

The NEDC described itself as a faith-based embryo adoption program with a dual purpose to protect the lives and dignity of frozen embryos that would not be used by their genetic parents and to help other couples build the families they have longed for via donated embryos.

"Emma is such a sweet miracle," Benjamin said. "I think she looks pretty perfect to have been frozen all those years ago."

Tina said the couple was grateful for Emma, calling her "a precious Christmas gift from the Lord."

Read the full story from CNN here.

Photo courtesy NEDC, used with permission