Lindsey, 35, and Tim Pierce, 34, have welcomed a very special baby boy named Thaddeus Daniel Pierce. Thaddeus made history by becoming the world’s oldest baby, born from an embryo frozen for over 30 years.
Thaddeus was born after Lindsey underwent a fertility procedure at the Rejoice Fertility IVF clinic in Tennessee. The embryo was originally created in 1994 by Linda Archerd and her then-husband. Linda, now 62, had four embryos frozen at that time. One became her 30-year-old daughter, and three were kept frozen after her divorce.
Linda kept custody of the remaining embryos and decided not to discard or donate them anonymously. Instead, she chose to donate them through an adoption program called Nightlight Christian Adoptions, which allows donors to select the family who receives the embryos.
Lindsey and Tim had been trying to have a baby for several years and eventually matched with Linda’s donated embryo through a fertility program called Snowflakes.
Lindsey said, “We didn’t set out to break any records; we just wanted to have a baby.” The couple is grateful and amazed by Thaddeus’ arrival.
Linda has not yet met Thaddeus but feels it is special that he is her daughter’s sibling. She described the moment as “pretty surreal” and “hard to even believe.”
Before Thaddeus, the previous record for the oldest frozen embryo birth was held by twins born in 2022 from embryos created in 1992.
