Baby Thaddeus Sets World Record: Born 30 Years After He Was Frozen as an Embryo

In a remarkable testament to the sanctity of life, Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born on July 26, 2025, setting a world record as the “oldest baby” born from an embryo frozen for over 30 years.

The Ohio newborn, delivered to adoptive parents Lindsey and Tim Pierce, embodies the pro-life conviction that every embryo holds the potential for life, no matter how long he or she remains in cryopreservation.

Thaddeus was created in 1994 through in vitro fertilization (IVF) by Linda Archerd, now 62, and her then-husband. One of four embryos, it led to the birth of Archerd’s daughter, now 30 and a mother herself. The remaining three embryos were frozen, preserved as “three little hopes,” as Archerd described them, reflecting her deep desire to see them given a chance at life.

“I always wanted another baby desperately,” she told MIT Technology Review.

After her divorce, Archerd chose to donate the embryos through the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program, operated by Nightlight Christian Adoptions, ensuring they went to a family sharing her values. The program ensures that the embryos, human beings, are not killed or destroyed.

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Lindsey Pierce, 35, and Tim Pierce, 34, of London, Ohio, adopted the embryo after nearly eight years of struggling with infertility.

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

The couple, matched through the faith-based adoption program, traveled to Rejoice Fertility Clinic in Tennessee for the embryo transfer in November 2024.

Despite a challenging birth, Lindsey said, “We had a rough birth, but we are both doing well now. He is so chill. We are in awe that we have this precious baby!”

Rejoice Fertility’s embryologist, Sarah Atkinson, used specialized tools to thaw the 30-year-old embryos, with all three surviving—a near-miracle in scientific terms. Dr. John Gordon, a reproductive endocrinologist at the clinic, emphasized the mission to give every embryo a chance, stating, “Every embryo deserves a chance at life and the only embryo that cannot result in a healthy baby is the embryo not given the opportunity to be transferred into a patient.”

Archerd, seeing photos of Thaddeus, noted his striking resemblance to her daughter.

“The first thing that I noticed when Lindsey sent me his pictures is how much he looks like my daughter when she was a baby,” she said. “I pulled out my baby book and compared them side by side, and there is no doubt that they are siblings.”

She expressed a longing to meet Thaddeus, calling it “a dream come true.”

Thaddeus’ birth surpasses the previous record set in 2022 by twins born from embryos frozen in 1992. Experts confirm that long-term freezing, when done with proper techniques like vitrification, does not harm embryo viability, reinforcing the potential for countless embryos stored worldwide to be born safely.

For the Pierces, Thaddeus is a miracle bridging science and faith. Lindsey remarked that her family and church community see the event as “like something from a sci-fi movie.”

Yet, for pro-life advocates, Thaddeus’ story is a powerful affirmation that life begins at conception, and every frozen embryo represents a unique human soul awaiting its chance to thrive.

The Snowflakes program, which facilitated the adoption, continues to connect donors and recipients, offering hope to families while honoring the dignity of embryonic life. Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, born after three decades in a cryotank, stands as a living testament to that mission.

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