On July 26, 2025, a boy named Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born in Ohio, USA, earning the title of the oldest child in the world. His remarkable story lies in the fact that he was born from an embryo that had been kept in frozen storage for over 30 years.
How is this possible?
The embryo was originally frozen in 1994 during an in vitro fertilization procedure performed on Linda Archerd and her husband, who had long tried to have a child.
During the first procedure, their daughter was born, but the three remaining embryos were cryogenically preserved. After Linda’s divorce, she received the right to the embryos and for many years paid for their storage in hope of another pregnancy. After going through menopause and considering various options, she decided to donate the embryos for adoption through the Christian adoption agency NightLight Christian Adoptions.
The embryo from which Thaddeus was born was adopted by the Christian couple Lindsey and Tim Pierce, who were able to become parents thanks to this after years of trying to have a child. Thaddeus was born healthy and strong, and the event is considered historic because it is the oldest known case of a child being born from such a long-frozen embryo.
Thaddeus also has a biological sister who is 30 years older, as well as a family who joyfully welcomed his birth.
A similar story
Molly Gibson from Tennessee was born in 2020 from an embryo frozen in 1992, which made her at the time the oldest child born from such a long-stored embryo. Molly broke the record held by her older sister Emma, who was also born thanks to an embryo stored for 25 years.
Cases like these show the enormous progress of reproductive medicine, which allows embryos to be safely stored for decades and later result in the birth of healthy children.
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