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Molly Gibson was born in October of this year, but from the first day of her life she has become a special child, all because she was born from an embryo frozen for 27 years, a world record. The previous record belonged to the older sister, Emma, whose embryo was kept for 24 years.
Molly’s embryo was frozen in October 1992 and remained so until February of this year, when Tina and Bem Gibson, from Tennessee, United States, decided to have their second child.
“If they had asked me five years ago if I would have not just one girlfriend but two, I would have said it was madness,” said Tina, 29, quoted by the BBC, recalling that the family struggled with infertility for some years until her parents heard a story about embryo adoption on a local radio.
“It’s the only reason we share our story. If my parents hadn’t seen that story in the news, we wouldn’t be here,” he added.
Molly could have been born at any time in the 27 years her embryo was frozen.
The couple contacted the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC), a non-profit organization in Knoxville, Tennessee that stores frozen embryos that IVF patients have decided not to use and have chosen to donate.
Thus, families like Gibson can adopt one of the unused embryos and give birth to a child. Couples can opt for a “closed” or “open” embryo adoption, which allows contact with the donor family.
According to the NEDC, there are approximately one million frozen human embryos stored in the United States.
But before Molly, the couple had Emma and made headlines for the first time: she was the oldest known frozen embryo, a record now broken by Molly.
Jeffrey Keenan, president and medical director of the embryo adoption center, stressed that Emma and Molly are proof that old embryos should not be discarded.
The Gibson daughters, Molly and Emma, are genetic sisters. The two embryos were donated and frozen together in 1992, when Tina Gibson, the mother, was about one year old.
According to NEDC, the lifespan of frozen embryos is, in theory, infinite, so the record now set by Molly could be broken.
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