World’s ‘oldest baby ever’ has just been born

It's a new world record

Lindsey and Tim Pierce, respectively 35 and 34 years old, welcomed their son, Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, last weekend.

However, Thaddeus' birth story is slightly different from that of other newborn babies. Thaddeus was born from an embryo that had been kept frozen for over 30 years.

Lindsey told MIT Technology Review: "We had a rough birth but we are both doing well now.

"He is so chill. We are in awe that we have this precious baby!"

Thaddeus's story actually dates back to 1994. At the time, Linda Archerd (now 62) had created four embryos with her then-husband through IVF. One of the embryos became Linda's 30-year-old daughter, while the three others were kept frozen.

Linda had hoped to have another baby, however, Linda and her husband ended up filing for divorce. Linda won custody of the remaining three embryos and decided to keep them in storage.

"I always thought it was the right thing to do," Linda said.

Even though Linda decided she didn't want to get rid of the embryos or donate them to research, she also didn't enjoy the thought of donating them to a family anonymously either.

She explained: "It’s my DNA; it came from me... and [it’s] my daughter’s sibling."

Linda then discovered embryo adoption through Nightlight Christian Adoptions, which allowed Linda to choose the family to whom she donated her embryos.

In the meantime, Lindsey and Tim had been trying to have a baby for several years and had talked with many doctors about their fertility journey.

Eventually, Lindsey and Tim decided to sign up to Snowflakes, the same fertility programme Linda was a part of, and soon enough, their profiles matched.

Just months later, baby Thaddeus was born.

The Rejoice Fertility IVF clinic in Tennessee, where Lindsey underwent her procedure, says it aims to transfer any embryo it receives, no matter the age.