28-year-old American gave birth to a child, conceived 27 years ago

Tina and Ben Gibson tried to become parents for years, but the diagnosis of infertility left them little chance. Everything has changed thanks to advanced medical science - now they have two children. The youngest daughter was born thanks to the “adoption of an embryo” conceived 27 years ago. Writes about this USA Today.

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Molly Everett Gibson was born on October 26, 2020 and immediately set a world record - the girl’s embryo was artificially conceived 27 years ago. Previously, this record belonged to her older sister Emma Wren Gibson, who was born in 2017 after a similar process of transferring a thawed 24-year-old embryo to future parents.

Molly's embryo was born in 1992. It was frozen for 27 years, a new known record for an embryo that produced a baby, according to the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC).

Molly and Emma are genetic sisters. Both embryos were donated and frozen together in 1992, about a year after their mother, Tina Gibson, was born.

The Gibsons became parents through a process called embryo adoption.

In embryo adoption, families who perform IVF (in vitro fertilization or in-lab conception) donate “extra” embryos to couples who are unable to conceive. The embryos are frozen until they can be given to another couple who will give birth to a child not biologically related to her.

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Future contacts between families vary depending on the donor and recipient.

“Embryo donation is when embryos that are not genetically a woman's are transferred into her uterus,” explained NEDC President and Medical Director Dr. Jeffrey Keenan, who transferred Molly's embryo into Tina's uterus in February.

"In legal terms, it is not 'adopting' a child as a newborn, but there are many good reasons for using this terminology," he said.

There are embryos even older than 27 years old today, Keenan said, but none older than Molly has been transferred into the uterus.

“All we can say for sure is 27 years, but we are quite confident that they can be frozen for longer,” he said, adding that the average age of embryos transferred at NEDC is about 10-12 years.

“We would definitely like to see the 30-year mark,” he continued. “But this is not only a question about the age of the embryo. Do we have the right pair of parents for him? Will the couple choose this embryo? Will the embryo survive thawing? Will it be able to implant, develop, and then be born?”

Founded in 2003, NEDC has facilitated more than a thousand embryo adoption births, with embryos sourced from clinics across the country. Keenan says most couples come to the Knoxville establishment from far away, some from overseas, although the Gibsons are locals.

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Tina will be happy to share her family history with Molly and Emma when they grow up.

“Embryo adoption has changed our lives,” she said, encouraging interested couples to explore the possibility more.

"Emma definitely knows the word 'embryo.' “Embryo adoption” is a common term in our house, there is nothing abnormal about it. Our daughters will definitely learn their history,” says the happy mother.

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