Twins born from embryos frozen 30 years ago may be a new record

Twins were born in the US from frozen embryos more than 30 years ago in what proud new parents describe as a “mind-boggling” experience.

The National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) believes that most frozen embryos have resulted in live births.

Lydia and Timothy Ridgway were born on October 31 from embryos frozen on April 22, 1992 – at a time when George HW Bush was US President and John Major was British Prime Minister.

CNN reports that the embryos were initially created for an anonymous couple and kept at a fertility lab before being donated to the National Center in 2007.

Philip Ridgway, the twins’ father, was five years old when the embryos were created and said, “There is something mind-boggling about it.”

“I was five years old when God gave life to Lydia and Timothy, and He has preserved that life ever since.

“In a way, they are our oldest children, even though they are our youngest.”

Philip and Rachel Ridgway have four other children, ages two to eight.

In 1992, the biological mother of an egg donor was 34 years old while the father was 50 years old.

The previous record holder known to date is Molly Gibson, born in 2020 from an embryo frozen nearly 27 years ago. She took the record from sister Emma, ​​who was born from an embryo frozen for 24 years. While an old frozen embryo may have been used at some point, the fact is that while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks success rates and data on reproductive techniques, it doesn’t track how long embryos last. The embryos were frozen. But there is no evidence that an older fetus results in a live birth.