New Delhi: A Tennessee couple–Tina and Ben Gibson have been blessed with a baby girl from an embryo that was frozen 27 years ago. Notably, Molly Everette Gibson is the couple’s second successful embryo adoption with the National Embryo Donation Center. She was born on October 26 from an embryo that was frozen in 1992.
In 2017, Tina had given birth to a baby girl from a 24-year-old frozen embryo. Speaking to NBC News, the couple asserted that they used a process called embryo-adoption to become parents. “I was so scared to open up my heart to the potential of having a pregnancy. I thought it wouldn’t work. And then it would just be ripped away from me again”, Tina told NBC news.
National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) President Dr. Jeffrey Keenan asserted that the clinic staff, too, are “thrilled” for the Gibsons.
“Embryo adoption is a fantastic option for so many couples. It’s an exceptionally successful and very cost-effective option, and it’s sometimes really the only option for couples where the mother can actually experience pregnancy and the birth of a child”, Kennan said.
NEDC’s embryo adoption program has led to around 700 pregnancies so far. The centre aims to protect the lives of frozen embryos. Kennan hopes that the story of this couple will prompt more couples, who have embryos in long-term storage, to consider donating to help more families.
Frozen embryos as good as fresh ones for successful IVF births: Study
Using frozen embryos for in vitro fertilization (IVF) gives infertile couples just as much of a chance of having a child as using fresh ones, a study had found. Researchers from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Vietnam and the University of Adelaide in Australia showed that ongoing pregnancy rates and live births were equivalent in a group of IVF women implanted with frozen embryos compared with fresh embryos.