Woman Gives Birth From an Embryo Frozen for 24 Years

Well, this is pretty cool… An embryo that was frozen for more than 24 years was implanted into a woman’s uterus and produced Miss Emma Wren Gibson, who was born on November 25 to East Tennessee parents Tina and Benjamin Gibson.

Emma looks pretty happy to finally be here.

When the Gibsons got married seven years ago, they knew getting pregnant would be a challenge because Benjamin had cystic fibrosis and the condition can cause infertility. So they perused 500 embryo donor profiles, selecting three embryos to adopt (in the event one didn’t take). Tina underwent her embryo transfer in March and became pregnant with the adoptee that was frozen in October 14, 1992, when Tina, who’s now 26, was just a year-and-a-half old, Sleepless in Seattle was in theaters and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” was at the top of the charts. Weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long, Emma holds the record for the longest-frozen embryo ever born, according to the National Embryo Donation Center.

“Emma is such a sweet miracle,” Benjamin said in NEDC’s press release. “I think she looks pretty perfect to have been frozen all those years ago.”

Hope her middle name is Elsa.