A Couple Welcomes Twins From Donated Embryos Frozen 30 Years Ago

Building their family was always part of a larger calling for the Ridgeways. They always wanted to expand their family, which was when they heard about frozen embryos. The embryos were frozen on April 22, 1992 — 30 years ago. We found it interesting to learn more about what these parents went through and how their already-born siblings reacted to this news, so we wrote an article to cover all of our interests. Let’s see how the story began.

The 2 kids were born from the longest-frozen embryos.

According to the National Embryo Donation Center, Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway were born from what may be the longest-frozen embryos to ever result in a live birth. They were born on October 31, 2022. Molly Gibson, born in 2020 from an embryo frozen for over 27 years, held the previous record.

Parents are so happy about their decision.

“There is something mind-boggling about it,” Philip Ridgeway said as he and his wife cradled their newborns in their laps at home. “I was 5 years old when God gave life to Lydia and Timothy, and he’s been preserving that life ever since.” The Ridgeways have 4 other children, ages 8, 6, 3, and almost 2.

Before their birth

They were preserved for nearly 3 decades on microscopic straws in liquid nitrogen at a temperature almost 200 degrees below zero in a container resembling a propane tank. Philip stated, “We’ve never had a set number of children we’d like to have in our minds.” “When we heard about embryo adoption, we thought that’s something we would like to do.”

They are a happy family with 6 kids.

The Ridgeways claim that they explained each step to them because they wanted their children to be involved from the beginning. Lydia was born at 5 pounds, 11 ounces, and Timothy was 6 pounds, 7 ounces. Philip said: “In a sense, they’re our oldest children, even though they’re our smallest children.”

What are your thoughts about giving birth via frozen embryos? Would you do it? Share your thoughts in the comments!