Twins born in Knoxville, Tennessee, last month may be from the longest-frozen embryos to result in a live birth. According to CNN, when Rachel Ridgeway gave birth on October 31, her healthy twins came from embryos donated three decades ago.
Rachel's husband, Philip Ridgeway, told the media outlet that, in a sense, they are their oldest children, even though they are their most minor children. The Ridgeways have four other kids, ages 8, 6, 3 and almost 2, but none were conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) or donors.
The embryos that the Ridgeways used originally belonged to an anonymous married couple at a fertility facility on the West Coast. The embryos were formed using the eggs of a 34-year-old donor and her husband's sperm.
Ridgeways consulted the embryo center in Knoxville
The couple later donated those embryos to the National Embryo Donation Center. When the Ridgeways embarked on their journey to have more kids, they consulted the embryo center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Philip said in the interview that they never had a set number of children they would like to have in their minds. He added that they have always thought they would have as many as God wants to give them, and when they heard about embryo adoption, they thought it was something they would like to do.
The five embryos were then thawed on February 28, three of which were viable. Rachel chose to transfer all three embryos, saying she was just shown a picture of her three children and that she must have them all.
Liquid nitrogen helps preserve embryos for decades
Two of those embryos were successfully transferred to Rachel. Studies have shown that about 25 to 40 percent of frozen embryos result in a live birth. According to fertility doctors, liquid nitrogen can preserve embryos for decades despite the length of their storage.
Dr. Jim Toner, an Atlanta-based fertility specialist, said that it does not seem like an embryo or a sperm or an egg stored in liquid nitrogen ever experiences time. He added that it is like that Rip Van Winkle thing wherein it just wakes up 30 years later and never knew it was asleep.
The twins were 30 years in the making and finally made their debuts last month, with Lydia weighing five pounds and 11 ounces and Timothy weighing six pounds and seven ounces at birth. The Ridgeway twins beat the previous record for the oldest embryos, resulting in a live birth.
Molly Everette Gibson was born to parents Ben and Tina Gibson in 2020, more than 27 years after her embryo was frozen. Mark Mellinger, the marketing and development director for the NEDC, told PEOPLE magazine at the time that Molly was conceived and frozen 28 years ago, which is only a year and a half after her mother Tina was born.
