A baby boy named Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, born in 2025, has made headlines as the world’s oldest newborn—developed from an embryo that was frozen for 30 years.
The embryo, originally created and frozen in 1994 through in vitro fertilization (IVF), was donated by Linda Archerd, who had conceived one child and preserved three remaining embryos in long-term storage. For decades, Archerd paid around $1,000 per year to keep the embryos frozen, holding on to hope that they would one day have a chance at life.
Archerd, a Christian, believed it was morally necessary to give the embryos a future. Despite being rejected by most adoption agencies due to their age, she eventually connected with a surrogate family through embryo adoption.
That family—Tim and Lindsey Pierce—had been trying to conceive for seven years without success. Turning to embryo adoption, Lindsey underwent a transfer of all three embryos. Two failed to develop, but one embryo survived the thawing and implantation process.
That single embryo is now Thaddeus David Pierce, born healthy in 2025. Despite technically being 30 years old, Thaddeus entered the world as a newborn, marking a new milestone in reproductive medicine.
The couple says their intent was not to set records, but simply to become parents. Their journey highlights how embryo preservation and adoption can offer new hope to families facing infertility.
In the same year, another medical record was broken—the youngest premature baby to survive birth over four months early, now thriving.
Thaddeus’s story showcases both the power of medical innovation and the emotional strength of families who never give up on hope.
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