<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tina Gibson's one-month-old daughter, Molly Everette, was born from a donated <keyword id="6495351" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Embryo">embryo</keyword> frozen less than two years after Gibson herself was born.</li><li>The fertilized embryo that resulted in Molly's birth was frozen 28 years ago in October 1992.</li><li>The donated embryo was transferred to Gibson's uterus in February 2020.</li><li>Baby Molly broke a record previously held by her three-year-old older sister, Emma, who spent 24 years as a frozen embryo.</li><li>Emma and Molly are "full genetic siblings," according to a statement shared with Insider by the embryo donation program the Gibsons worked with.</li></ul><p>Tina Gibson and her one-month-old daughter, Molly Everette, are nearly the same age. Sort of.</p><p>The baby was born from an embryo frozen almost 28 years ago - less than two years after 29-year-old Gibson herself was born.</p><p>"She's definitely been a little spark of joy for 2020," <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/01/us/baby-frozen-embryo-27-years-trnd/index.html">Gibson told CNN's Scottie Andrew</a>.</p><p><a href="https://nypost.com/2020/12/01/baby-is-27-years-old-just-two-years-younger-than-her-mom/">According to the New York Post</a>, Gibson was born in April 1991, while the fertilized embryo that baby Molly was born from was frozen in October 1992.</p><p>The donated embryo was transferred to Gibson's uterus in February, and she gave birth to Molly on October 26, 2020 - exactly 28 years after the embryo was first frozen, according to a statement shared with Insider by <a href="https://www.embryodonation.org/about/">the National Embryo Donation Center</a>, the Tennessee-based embryo-donation program Gibson and her husband Benjamin worked with.</p><p><a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314662#-how-do-people-freeze-embryos">According to Medical News Today</a>, the embryo-freezing process starts with harvesting and extracting suitable eggs from a uterus before fertilizing the eggs with sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized embryo is then frozen for future use.</p><h2>Gibson and her husband now have 2 daughters who have each broken the same world record</h2><p>The University of Tennessee's medical research staff determined that Molly's birth sets the record for the longest period of time that a fertilized embryo has spent frozen before successfully resulting in birth, NEDC's development director Mark Mellinger confirmed to Insider.</p><p>Up until Molly's birth, her own big sister <a href="https://www.insider.com/a-baby-has-been-born-after-the-embryo-was-frozen-24-years-ago-2017-12?jwsource=cl">Emma, who spent 24 years as a frozen embryo</a>, held that same record.</p><div type="image" title="molly_emma" height="1000" width="1333" msid="79551802" hostid="261"></div><p>"I just wanted a baby. I don't care if it's a world record or not," <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/19/health/snowbaby-oldest-embryo-bn/index.html">Gibson told CNN in 2017 after Emma's birth</a>. </p><p>A statement from NEDC shared with Insider confirmed that Molly and Emma "are full genetic siblings" as they came from the same batch of frozen embryos. Mellinger told Insider that the center's president, Dr. Jeffrey Keenan, performed both embryo transfers. </p><p>"When Tina and Ben returned for their sibling transfer, I was thrilled that the remaining two embryos from the donor that resulted in Emma Wren's birth survived the thaw and developed into two very good quality embryos for their transfer," Carol Sommerfelt, NEDC's lab director and embryologist, said in a statement shared with Insider. </p><p>Sommerfelt also praised the effectiveness of the freezing process used to preserve the embryos nearly three decades ago. "This definitely reflects on the technology used all those years ago and its ability to preserve the embryos for future use under an indefinite time frame," she said.</p><h2>The Gibsons explored a few different paths to having kids before turning to frozen embryos</h2><p>The couple got married 10 years ago, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/19/health/snowbaby-oldest-embryo-bn/index.html">per CNN</a>. </p><p>"My husband has cystic fibrosis, so infertility is common," <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/19/health/snowbaby-oldest-embryo-bn/index.html">Gibson told CNN in 2017</a>. <a href="https://www.cff.org/What-is-CF/About-Cystic-Fibrosis/">Cystic fibrosis</a> is a genetic disorder that affects a number of organs, including the lungs and pancreas.</p><div type="image" title="HCP_GIBSON 9" height="1803" width="2400" msid="79551806" hostid="261"></div><p>According to CNN, Gibson and her hubsand fostered several children before Gibson's father suggested looking at frozen embryos as an option.</p><p>"We're so happy for the Gibsons. This is a couple that, at one point, did not think they would ever be able to become pregnant and have children and here they are, with two little history makers!" Mellinger told Insider over the phone. </p><h2>Mellinger told Insider that as long as they're stored properly, embryos don't have an expiration date</h2><p>"Our embryologists and medical experts here believe that as long as an embryo was frozen properly and good care was taken, no, we do not believe there is any sort of shelf life for frozen embryos," Mellinger said.</p><p>In a statement shared with Insider, Dr. Keenan said, "I think this is proof positive that no embryo should ever be discarded, certainly not because it is 'old'!"</p><p><em>The photographs of the family were shared with Insider by <a href="https://www.haleighcrabtreephotography.com/">Haleigh Crabtree Photography.</a></em></p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/newborn-son-came-from-adopted-embryo-frozen-20-years-ago-2020-12">A couple's newborn son came from an adopted embryo frozen 20 years ago</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/chrissy-teigen-calls-to-normalize-formula-on-twitter-2020-11">Chrissy Teigen is calling to normalize infant formula after feeling 'shame' when she couldn't breastfeed</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/celebrity-babies-born-this-year-2020-2">105 celebrity babies born this year, so far</a></p></li></ul>

A Tennessee baby born from a nearly 28-year-old frozen embryo broke a world record previously set by her own sister

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Twins Timothy and Lydia Ridgeway were born 30 years after they were frozen as embryos in 1992.</li><li>They hold the record for developing from the longest-frozen embryos known to result in a live birth.</li></ul><p>Rachel Ridgeway, a mom of six, couldn't be more thrilled that she is just three years older (albeit technically) than her newborns.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.insider.com/identical-twins-were-separated-at-birth-lived-9000-miles-apart-2022-11">twins</a>, who were delivered three weeks ago, are believed to have developed from the oldest known embryos that led to a live birth.</p><p>Rachel and her husband, Philip, got pregnant three decades after their son and daughter — named Timothy and Lydia — were frozen as embryos in April 1992.</p><p>The infants' biological parents, who have stayed anonymous, donated their leftover embryos to the <a href="https://embryodonation.org/">National Embryo Donation Center</a>, or NEDC, after going through <a href="https://www.insider.com/jennifer-aniston-tried-ivf-chinese-tea-pregnancy-2022-11">IVF.</a> The <a href="https://embryodonation.org/NEDC_Agreement_for_Open_Donation_and_Adoption.pdf">Christian nonprofit</a>, which only offers frozen embryo transfers to heterosexual couples who've been married for at least three years, stored them in liquid nitrogen along with thousands of other embryos.</p><p>The NEDC was founded in 2002 as a way of helping people start — or, like the Ridgeways, expand — their families. </p><p>"I was 5 years old when God gave life to these embryos," Philip, a devout Christian, said. He noted that their birth was more remarkable because Rachel was just 3 at the time of their conception.</p><div type="image" title="Married couple Rachel and Philip Ridgeway shown in the hospital with their newborn twins" height="1155" width="1537" msid="95722140" hostid="261"></div><p>"It's mind-blowing to think about," the dad said. "Pretty much everybody we've talked to has trouble wrapping their brain around it."</p><p>The Ridgeways, who had four kids aged between the ages of 2 and 8, initially approached the NEDC in December 2019.</p><p>"We needed some fertility assistance to conceive our three oldest children," said Rachel, who took the hormone-boosting medication Clomid.</p><h2>The couple used the money they would have spent on fertility treatments to pay for their adoption of the frozen embryos</h2><p>They hoped to welcome their fourth child in 2020. They chose to "adopt" a frozen embryo from the NEDC, based in Knoxville, Tennessee.</p><p>"We decided to put the money that we would normally use for fertility care towards embryo adoption," Rachel said. "We wanted to follow that route."</p><p>Matters changed a few months later when they were surprised to naturally conceive their fourth child, now aged 2.</p><div type="image" title="Rachel Ridgeway, pregnant with twins, stands on a beach in 2022" height="1150" width="1534" msid="95722141" hostid="261"></div><p>But they were determined to have more kids. They revisited their plan.</p><p>Philip said that they were motivated by their religious beliefs. "We've always thought, 'Let's have as many kids that God wants to give us," the 35-year-old said. "We thought, 'We're not done yet if that's God's will.'"</p><p>The couple, who live in Vancouver, Washington, selected their embryos in December 2021 from the so-called "special consideration" section of the NEDC.</p><p>"These embryos are often overlooked because they were donated by parents who had a known history of certain genetic disorders," Rachel said. </p><h2>The Ridgeways said that they didn't care whether the 30-year-old embryos were considered perfect or not</h2><p>"We found out that these kids are rarely looked at because many parents coming into the process are wondering what they could have," Rachel said.</p><p>The mom added, "It didn't really matter to us if they're considered perfect or not." The 34-year-old said they were told that the twins' biological father had died from ALS, also known as <a href="https://www.insider.com/pete-frates-mom-ice-bucket-challenge-treatment-drug-fda-2002-09">Lou Gehrig's disease.</a></p><p>"There's a possibility that it could be a genetic disorder that they may or may not have," Rachel said. "But we didn't care."</p><p>Philip told Insider that, unlike some of the would-be parents, they weren't bothered about the age of the embryos.</p><p>Three of them were transferred, and two developed. Rachel, who had a relatively straightforward pregnancy, gave birth on October 31, 2022, at 38 weeks.</p><div type="image" title="Rachel Ridgeway is seen showing her husband, Philip, an ultrasound of their unborn babies" height="1536" width="2049" msid="95722143" hostid="261"></div><p>Timothy weighed 6 pounds and 7 ounces. Lydia weighed 5 pounds.</p><p>The twins' record-breaking delivery was verified by the <a href="http://gsm.utmck.edu/library/">University of Tennessee Preston Medical Library</a>. The former record-holder was a child named <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/12/01/baby-is-27-years-old-just-two-years-younger-than-her-mom/">Molly Gibson</a>, who was born in 2017. The frozen embryo that later became Molly had been stored for 24 years.</p><p>As for the Ridgeways, they told Insider that they hadn't chosen the 30-year-old embryos for the publicity.</p><h2>The parents plan to tell the twins the story of their conception in 1992 when they're older</h2><p>They are united in the way that they will raise their twins. "Our plans for the twins is to make sure their adoption is a part of their story," Rachel said. "We want to keep it as a normal part of their lives."</p><p>She said that the family would tell them about their origin once they were able to understand.</p><p>"They'll always know that they are adopted," Rachel added. "We want to make sure that they know that embryo adoption makes them special." </p><p><strong><em>Do you have a powerful story to share with Insider? Please send details to jridley@insider.com.</em></strong></p>

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