In the United States, twins have been born from embryos that have been frozen for 30 years.
On the 21st (local time), CNN reported that twins, Lydia and Timothy, were born to Rachel and Phillip Ridgway, who live in Portland, Oregon, on the 31st of last month.
According to reports, the couple gave birth to twins from embryos donated by an anonymous donor. The twins’ embryos were reportedly frozen on April 22, 1992.
The Ridgway couple went through the process of checking information such as the donor’s body, genetic conditions, education level, occupation, and cultural tastes such as movies and music to select embryos before conception.
“We weren’t trying to get the longest frozen embryo in the world, but we wanted the long-awaited one,” said Philip, father of the twins.
The couple explained that they had tried to choose the donor with the previous number in order, thinking that the earlier the donor’s number was, the longer they would have donated the embryo.
“These twins are the youngest in our family, but in a way they are the oldest,” said Philip.
Meanwhile, the couple already have four children, aged 8, 6, 3 and 24 months.
Lee Bo-bae, Hankyung.com guest reporter newsinfo@hankyung.com
