A baby boy born in Ohio may have just made history after being born from an embryo that had been frozen for more than 30 years. Thaddeus Daniel Pierce arrived in 2025 after his parents, Lindsey and Tim Pierce, adopted an embryo that was originally created in 1994 during an IVF procedure.
The embryo belonged to Linda Archerd, who created several embryos with her former husband in the 1990s. One embryo resulted in the birth of her daughter, who is now 30 years old, while the remaining embryos stayed frozen in storage for decades. Rather than discard them or donate them anonymously, Archerd carefully searched for a family she felt would be the right match.
After years of infertility, the Pierces were selected through an embryo adoption program. The transfer was performed at a fertility clinic in Tennessee known for accepting embryos regardless of how long they have been frozen. The procedure was successful, and Thaddeus was born healthy, potentially breaking the previous record for the longest-frozen embryo to result in a live birth.
Although the family never expected worldwide attention, the remarkable birth has captured public interest. Archerd, now 62, says she already sees similarities between baby Thaddeus and her adult daughter, making the story even more extraordinary. What began as a decades-old frozen embryo has now become a living reminder of how far reproductive science has advanced and how one family’s long-held hope finally became reality.