A baby was born last month from the oldest frozen embryo — which was frozen for 24 years.
This year has been an exceptional year for scientific innovations and women’s health, and Emma Wren Gibson’s birth is nothing less than revolutionary. According to CNN, Tina Gibson was able to give birth to her healthy daughter on Nov. 25. And honestly, it should be a national holiday now, because Emma’s birth came from the oldest frozen human embryo to date.
MIRACLE BABY: Emma Wren was born after being frozen for more than 24 years as an embryo. Her mother says she’s a miracle and will have quite the story to tell someday. @wbir READ: https://t.co/iSAw1Yk1jQ pic.twitter.com/k6TFCqLJNg
— Madison Wade (@madisoncwade) December 19, 2017
Prior to her birth, Emma was a donated embryo that was frozen for 24 years. Emma was initially conceived and fertilized back in 1992 and was frozen instead of being implanted immediately.
The Daily Mail explains that on the day of the embryo transfer, Tina finally found out how long the embryo was frozen.
The only thing more noteworthy than Emma’s birth is that Tina is only a year older than the embryo that was implanted in her. “Do you realize that I’m 25 years old? If the baby was born when it was supposed to be born, we could have been best friends,” Tina told WBIR, a NBC News Affiliate.
While Tina and husband Ben weren’t always set on “embryo adoption,” it’s clear that Tina and Ben are ecstatic to see their family grow.
Beyond Emma’s miraculous birth, her story is a breakthrough in IVF and related treatments, and it gives prospective mothers new found hope that they can also conceive. After all, fertility is a privilege that some of us don’t have, and becoming an egg donor is an outstanding opportunity to help other families like Tina and Ben.