A miracle three decades in the making

Thaddeus Daniel Pierce born July 26, 2025

A couple has just welcomed their baby boy…who has been in existence for 30 years.

𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗩𝗙—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝘆𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Recently, I read Jessica Hamzelou’s an MIT Technology Review article sharing the remarkable story of a baby born from a 30-year-old embryo—the oldest known embryo to result in a live birth.

On July 26, after three decades of waiting, he arrived—a living answer to the prayers of two families.

The science alone is astonishing: an embryo frozen with 1990s technology, thawed after 30 years, that became a healthy baby boy.

But what moved me most was the human story behind it.

It began with Linda Archerd, who turned to IVF in the 1990s after six years of infertility. At the time, IVF was rare.

Four embryos were created. One became Linda’s daughter, now 30. The other three were frozen in time—her “three little hopes” as she called them.

But life had other plans. After a divorce, Linda kept custody of the embryos, paying storage fees year after year because she couldn’t bear to discard them or donate them for research. To her, they were family.

Three decades later, at 62, she knew she had to decide. She heard about embryo adoption, but didn’t want the process to be anonymous.

Then she discovered Snowflakes, a program through Nightlight Christian Adoptions.

Enter Lindsey and Tim Pierce, a couple in their mid-30s who had endured seven years of infertility.

Working with Dr. John Gordon at Rejoice Fertility in Tennessee, they learned about Linda’s embryos. Despite concerns about receiving 30-year-old embryos, they decided to take the chance.

They made five trips from their home in Ohio to the clinic in Tennessee over two weeks. One embryo didn’t survive thawing.

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲, 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲, 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱.

What amazes me is that Linda’s journey of love didn’t just create one family — it created two!

Linda isn’t alone in her dilemma. Today, with IVF being much more common, thousands of parents face the same question:

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯?

I’ll explore that bigger conversation about embryo adoption on Wednesday.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀.

Of two families committed to love and new beginnings.

Welcome to the world, sweet little boy!

Thaddeus is living proof that IVF isn’t just science.

It’s hope preserved. Love carried across decades. And sometimes, a second chance at life itself.