Here is the incredible science which allowed the birth of the 'world's oldest baby'.
Earlier this week, US couple Lindsey and Tim Pierce broke records after welcoming their son Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, with the infant instantly earning the title of the world's 'oldest' baby.
Now you may be wondering, 'How on Earth could a newborn baby be the oldest in the world?' Well, it's all down to the medical marvel which is IVF.
The embryo, which would later develop into baby Thaddeus, was created back in 1994 by Linda Archerd and her then-husband.
Advert
They created four embryos, one of which became her 30-year-old daughter, while the remaining three were frozen. After separating from her husband, Linda won custody of the remaining embryos and placed them in storage.
After discovering a Christian adoption agency which allowed her to choose the parents she would donate her embryo to, Linda was matched with Lindsey and Tim, a couple who'd been trying to have a baby for years.
Lindsey and Tim were able to welcome their newborn son Thaddeus on Saturday (26 July), but the journey to his birth was a rather complicated one.
How were doctors able to use a three-decade-old embryo?
According to the MIT Technology Review, which shared the news of Thaddeus' birth, Linda's embryos had been 'slow-frozen', a process which is no longer used as it can cause ice crystals to form.
Advert
It is also more complicated to thaw embryos frozen through this method, as lab supervisor Sarah Atkinson explained that it was a 'cumbersome' process to defrost Linda's three remaining embryos.
Of the three, two were viable to be transferred into Lindsey's uterus, with one ultimately developing into Thaddeus.
The process was also tough for the US couple, with Lindsey revealing that her son's birth was 'rough'.
"We are both doing well now," she added, saying that the couple weren't thinking about breaking records when they accepted the embryos.
Advert
"We just wanted to have a baby," Lindsey admitted.
Meanwhile, Linda revealed that she is yet to meet the newborn but already sees a resemblance between him and her own daughter, who is now 30 years old.
"I wish that they didn’t live so far away from me," she said. "He is perfect!”
Baby Thaddeus takes the record from a pair of twins born to couple Rachel and Philip Ridgeway in 2022, with the embryos originally being created back in 1992.
Brenna Cooper