The birth of a baby girl has created a historic milestone as she was born from an embryo that had been frozen for 27 years. Molly Everett Gibson was born on October 26th to her mother, Tina Gibson, who was just one year old when her daughter’s embryo was frozen in 1992.
In February, the embryo was thawed and transferred to her mother’s uterus, setting a record for the longest time an embryo has been frozen before a successful birth. Molly surpassed her sister’s previous record when Emma Wren Gibson was born in 2017, 24 years after her embryo was frozen.
Molly entered the world weighing a healthy 6 pounds 13 ounces in October, joining her parents, Tina and Ben, and her sister, Emma. Her embryo had been frozen on October 14th, 1992, and was thawed by Carol Sommerfelt, the lab director and embryologist at the National Embryo Donation Center, on February 10th of this year.
Two days later, on February 12th, the embryo was implanted into Tina’s uterus by Dr. Jeffrey Keenan, the president and medical director of the NEDC. Molly grew to full term and was born on October 26th, becoming the newest member of the Gibson family. Prior to Molly’s birth, her three-year-old sister, Emma, held the record for the longest frozen human embryo resulting in a successful birth.
Emma’s embryo was frozen on the same day as her sister’s in 1992, about a year and a half after Tina was born. The Gibsons initially had doubts about embryo donation when Tina’s father first suggested it as an option. However, they eventually embraced the idea and visited the National Embryo Donation Center in Tennessee.
They reviewed profiles of potential donors before selecting their preferred choice. Sommerfelt commented that the successful births of both sisters demonstrate the advancement of technology. She expressed her excitement when Tina and Ben returned for the sibling transfer, as the remaining two embryos from the donor that resulted in Emma Wren’s birth survived the thaw and developed into high-quality embryos for transfer.
