Woman, 26, gives birth to baby using embryo frozen for 24 years

Tina Gibson is 26 years old, and she's just given birth to a baby girl on Nov 25.

What's astonishing is the fact that her daughter Emma was conceived and kept frozen as an embryo in a lab for the past 24 years.

"This embryo and I could have been best friends," the new mum quipped to CNN.

Tina and her husband Benjamin were surprised to learn that the embryo was frozen on Oct 14, 1992, when they thawed it for implantation in her uterus at the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC).

This makes Emma the oldest frozen embryo to be born, according to University of Tennessee Preston Medical Library.

But Tina said: "I just wanted a baby. I don't care if it's a world record or not."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txbwKDBsiEw[/embed]

Married for seven years, the couple from Tennessee, United States had been fostering several children.

They also had plans for adoption as Benjamin, 33, suffers from the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis which is commonly associated with male infertility.

So, when Tina's father suggested an embryo adoption last year, they made an application at the NEDC and received a donated embryo this March.

However, the pregnancy was not an easy one as Tina's short cervix could've prevented her from successfully carrying the baby, CNN reported.

But it all worked out in the end and the Gibsons welcomed a healthy baby girl who weighed 2.9kg after twenty hours of labour.

And new dad Benjamin is clearly smitten with his daughter, saying: "Emma is such a sweet miracle, I think she looks pretty perfect to have been frozen all those years ago."

Also read: Woman gives birth using embryo frozen for 18 years

Also read: Baby boy born via IVF from world's oldest sperm

minlee@sph.com.sg