Oregon parents have twins from embryos that were frozen 30 years ago

(NOVEMBER 25, 2022) A woman in Oregon gave birth in October. She had twins. But these babies were special in another way. They were born from transplanted embryos. And the embryos had been frozen more than 30 years ago.

An embryo is a human or animal at the beginning of development. The embryonic stage begins when a sperm enters an egg. This stage lasts about eight weeks.

An embryo can be frozen after a few days. Later doctors thaw and transplant the embryo into the mother. The first procedure took place in the 1980s. Over 95% of frozen embryos lead to pregnancy. About half of the pregnancies result in live birth.

The Oregon parents adopted the twin embryos earlier this year. The twin embryos had been created for another couple. The embryos were kept in storage for many years. Then they were donated for other parents to use instead.

"More than 600,000 [embryos] are currently being held in frozen storage in the US, most of them waiting to be used by the couple that created them the next time they want to try to have a child," according to BBC News. Not all embryos are needed by the donors, however. So about 1 in 10 are made available for adoption.

The Oregon twins are special in another way. "It is believed to be a new record for the longest-frozen embryos ever to result in a successful live birth," says BBC News. The two embryos were stored at -323°F in liquid nitrogen on April 22, 1992.

The Oregon parents have four other children. "In a sense, [the twins are] our oldest children, even though they're our smallest children," said the father.