Hey everyone,

I know, I know. That headline sounds like it could be from the tabloids, and in a way it is! A couple of weeks ago, news hit about the record-breaking 27-year-old-baby, just 2 years younger than her mom. “What?” you say. I did a double take as well.

It’s all about frozen eggs and IVF.

The baby, Molly Gibson, was born from an embryo frozen in 1992. Her mom, Tina Gibson, was just a two-year-old toddler when the embryo was put in the deep freeze. Crazy, right?

Turns out the egg was donated and frozen on October 14, 1992. In 2019, it was “unfrozen” and implanted into Molly’s mom, Tina. This beats the record for a live birth from a frozen embryo. And surprisingly, the previous record for a live birth from a frozen embryo belonged to Molly’s sister, Emma. That egg was donated by the same couple in 1992. Here’s a link to this amazing news story with a photo of adorable baby Molly.

A 27-year-old embryo. Of course, the technology for frozen eggs has changed over the years, but the end result is still the same. It’s exciting and promising, and makes you wonder if there’s any limit on how long an egg can be frozen. I can think of some great sci-fi plots already.

If you’ve read Due Date and/or The Stork, you know that one of the themes is fertility, IVF, and surrogacy. The topic of frozen eggs relates very tangentially to The Found Child. I find the topic of IVF and surrogacy so compelling, both in real life and in fiction. To me, it’s really a miracle that an almost 30-year-old egg can be, in a sense, re-animated, and produce a live human being. Wow.

Until next time,

Nancy