Thaddeus Daniel Pierce looks like any other newborn baby. Except this Ohio infant spent the last 31 years frozen in liquid nitrogen at –196°C.
Born on July 26, 2025, Thaddeus just shattered the world record for the longest time between embryo creation and birth—a staggering 11,148 days in cryogenic storage.
His biological sister? She’s 30 years old with a 10-year-old daughter of her own.
The Mind-Blowing Timeline That Led to This Miracle
In 1994, when “Friends” was dominating TV and dial-up internet was cutting-edge, Linda Archerd and her then-husband created four embryos through IVF after six years of infertility struggles.
One embryo became their daughter. The other three—Linda called them her “three little hopes”—went into deep freeze.
Fast forward three decades. That baby girl is now a 30-year-old woman. Her frozen siblings remained suspended in time, costing Archerd around $1,000 annually in storage fees.
“I always wanted another baby desperately,” Archerd told MIT Technology Review, which broke the exclusive story.
[Image: DALL-E Prompt – Create a photorealistic split-screen image showing 1994 technology (old computer, VHS tapes) on the left transitioning to 2025 technology (smartphone, modern laptop) on the right, with a glowing embryo storage container in the center bridging both eras. Style: Documentary photography, warm lighting, 16:9 aspect ratio]
The Extraordinary Journey From Freezer to Family
After her divorce, Archerd won custody of the embryos. But as menopause approached, she faced an agonizing decision.
She couldn’t bear to destroy them or donate them to research.
Enter Nightlight Christian Adoptions and their Snowflakes program—treating embryos like adoptable children rather than medical waste. Archerd could even set preferences for the adoptive parents: married, Christian, and living in the United States.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, Lindsey and Tim Pierce had spent seven years trying to conceive. They’d seen multiple doctors. Nothing worked.
“We checkmarked anything and everything,” Tim said about their willingness to accept hard-to-place embryos.
The Record-Breaking Birth That Stunned Medical Experts
Here’s where it gets even more incredible.
Over 90% of fertility clinics wouldn’t even attempt to use embryos this old. The Pierces’ embryos were frozen using outdated slow-freeze techniques from the 1990s—not the modern vitrification method used today.
The thawing process was so risky that the clinic’s embryologist had handwritten notes warning to “wear face shield and eye protection” due to potential explosions from the old storage vials.
Miraculously, all three embryos survived the thaw.
Two were transferred to Lindsey’s uterus on November 14, 2024. One stopped developing. But Thaddeus held on.
The Science Behind This “Sci-Fi Movie” Birth
“If these eggs are frozen properly and they are thawed and pass screening, they can be just as healthy as an embryo created today,” explained Dr. Alok Patel to ABC News.
The previous record? Twins born in 2022 from embryos frozen for 30 years.
But Thaddeus beat that by over a year.
“We had a rough birth but we are both doing well now,” Lindsey Pierce said. “He is so chill. We are in awe that we have this precious baby!”
The Bigger Picture: 3 Million Frozen Embryos Waiting
Thaddeus represents something much larger than a medical curiosity.
An estimated 3 million embryos sit frozen in storage tanks across America right now. Many belong to people who’ve stopped responding to clinics or can’t decide what to do next.
Storage fees keep climbing. Ethical questions multiply.
For Archerd, seeing baby pictures of Thaddeus brought immediate recognition. “The first thing that I noticed… 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.”
The Timeline That Breaks Your Brain
Consider this: When Thaddeus was conceived as an embryo, his adoptive father Tim was still a toddler.
The embryo existed through:
- The entire rise of the internet
- 9/11 and its aftermath
- The iPhone revolution
- Multiple recessions
- A global pandemic
- The birth and childhood of his biological niece
All while suspended in liquid nitrogen, waiting.
What This Means for the Future of Frozen Embryos?
Rejoice Fertility, the Tennessee clinic that handled the transfer, specializes in giving every embryo a chance—no matter how old or how slim the odds.
“Every embryo deserves a chance at life,” their mission states.
But difficult questions remain. Should embryos be treated like adoptable children? How long is too long to keep them frozen? Who decides their fate?
For the Pierce family, those philosophical debates fade next to the reality of their miracle baby.
“It’s like something from a sci-fi movie,” Lindsey said about their church family’s reaction.
Except this time, the science fiction is absolutely real. And somewhere in America, 3 million other embryos remain frozen in time, waiting for their own chance at life.
Thaddeus Daniel Pierce now holds the official world record as the oldest embryo to result in a live birth. His story has reignited debates about embryo adoption, storage limits, and the future of fertility treatment.
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