The World's Oldest Baby Was Just Born From An Embryo That Was Frozen In 1994

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The Guardian – The world’s “oldest baby” has been born in the US from an embryo that was frozen in 1994, it has been reported.

Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born on 26 July in Ohio to Lindsey and Tim Pierce, using an “adopted” embryo from Linda Archerd, 62, from more than 30 years ago.

In the early 1990s, Archerd and her then husband decided to try in vitro fertilisation (IVF) after struggling to become pregnant. In 1994 four embryos resulted: one was transferred to Archerd and resulted in the birth of a daughter, who is now 30 and mother to a 10-year-old. The other embryos were cryopreserved and stored.

“We didn’t go into it thinking we would break any records,” Lindsey told the MIT Technology Review, which first reported the story. “We just wanted to have a baby.”

Adopting an embryo is a wild concept. Admittedly, I did not know that was something people did. It seems like that would be a bit of a mind fuck. To go through an entire pregnancy, growing a human being inside of you that was "conceived" by two completely different people. That shares none of your physical features. But when it's born, the baby is still cut from your umbilical cord. It was literally living off of you before it ever had fingers, hands, arms, legs, a brain, etc. The human body is capable of some incredible things. 

Then to think this particular baby spent 30 years in a freezer before it ever started to grow. That's adds a whole new fun layer to it. Imagine being a 10-year old kid in 2035 and learning that you technically (at least according to Alabama) have been living since 1994. These new parents (who are in their mid-30's) have themselves a 30-year old infant on their hands. The world's oldest baby. Other than our President, am I right folks?

I really wish those parents were younger though. It'd be a neat little tidbit to drop at parties. That your baby is older than you. I wonder if this couple was at all worried about having a Ted Brogan situation on their hands.

On an extremely basic, incredibly dumb brain level, when I read that headline it makes me thinks, "Well if we can do it with an embryo, can I freeze myself right now and pick back up as a 33-year old adult in 2055?"

I suppose there are a few "scientific" reasons why that's not quite the same thing. But maybe with a few advances, when I'm nearly on my death bed, I can pop myself in a cryogenic chamber and tell them to wake me up in 200 years. Just so I can get a quick glimpse of what the future looks like before I officially croak. 

But what an underdog story for this old baby. He sat on the sidelines for 30-years, watching all of the younger, sexier embryos get called-up ahead of him. Then right when he started to think his time had passed, that he'd never get his shot to play in the big leagues, some lovely Ohio couple comes along and gives him the nod. They could make a Pixar movie out of that.

Good luck in life, kid. Give 'em hell out there.