On October 31, Rachel Ridgway gave birth to twins at a Tennessee hospital. They were conceived back in 1992. By
Couples who are having difficultynatural conception often turn to procedures such as IVF. During this process, the male sperm and female egg are fertilized in a laboratory to increase the chances of success. In such a procedure, as a rule, several embryos are created at once, not all of which are transplanted.
The remaining embryos can either be donatedfor medical research purposes, or cryopreserved for future use by the same couple or others wishing to have children. Newborn twins - Lydia and Timothy - were among five embryos frozen in this way in April 1992. They remained frozen in liquid nitrogen at temperatures almost 200 degrees below zero.
When did Rachel and Philip Ridgeway find out about this?method of conception, they decided to give a chance to the oldest of the embryos stored in the donor bank. Five embryos were sent to a medical center, where they were thawed after 30 years. Two turned out to be non-viable; the couple decided to implant the remaining three.
According to studies, the average survival ratefrozen embryos is 25 to 40%, but in this case, two of the three embryos successfully developed. At the time of the birth of the twins, the couple already had four children of their own. It is noteworthy that Lydia and Timothy became the youngest children, if you count from the moment of birth, but the oldest from the moment of fertilization. For example, the father of the twins was only five years old in 1992.
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Cover image: National Embryo Donation Center