Overview

• Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born July 26 in Tennessee after spending 11 148 days in cryostorage and both his mother and he are reported healthy
• The embryo was created in 1994 for Linda Archerd’s IVF cycle and donated through Nightlight Christian Adoptions’ Snowflakes program for transfer at Dr. John Gordon’s Rejoice Fertility clinic
• Of the three embryos Archerd donated, one failed to survive thawing, two were transferred and a single embryo successfully implanted
• The birth eclipses the previous record held by twins born in Oregon in 2022 from embryos cryopreserved in 1992
• The milestone has reignited discussions over the fate of roughly 1.5 million surplus embryos in US freezers and the rare role of embryo adoption in fertility care