The embryo that waited 30 years to be born is a healthy baby now
The embryo, stored for over 30 years, belongs to Linda Archerd, who underwent IVF in the early 1990s after years of infertility
What if the baby you cradle today was conceived three decades ago? This is not science fiction — it is the story of Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, born on 26 July this year from an embryo frozen in 1994.
The embryo, stored for over 30 years, belongs to Linda Archerd, who underwent IVF in the early 1990s after years of infertility. One embryo led to a daughter. The remaining three were preserved in a storage tank and nicknamed by Archerd as her "three little hopes". Time passed. Life changed. But Archerd, now 62, held on.
"I always thought it was the right thing to do," she told MIT Technology Review. Her conviction led her to explore embryo "adoption" — a system, mainly faith-based, where embryos are placed with chosen families. That is how Lindsey and Tim Pierce from Ohio found their match.
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After years of failed attempts to conceive, the Pierces joined the Open Hearts programme run by Nightlight Christian Adoptions. "We checkmarked anything and everything," said Tim, reflecting on their openness to embryos others might have overlooked. They ended up receiving Archerd's long-frozen embryos.
The transfer was done by Rejoice Fertility, a clinic known for its willingness to work with older embryos. Thawing them was no simple task. "You do not want to kill someone's embryos if you do not know what you are doing," said Sarah Atkinson, the clinic's lead embryologist, who handled the risky thawing process.
Only one embryo developed into a fetus. That single survivor became baby Thaddeus, a healthy, calm, and very much loved baby.
"We just wanted to have a baby," said Lindsey. Now, their child holds a record. But more than that, he carries a story that spans generations, frozen in time and brought lovingly to life.
