A Tennessee couple expanded their family and made history at the same time. Tina and Benjamin Gibson had been struggling with infertility for years. They decided to adopt an embryo that Tina would carry until birth. That embryo has a story unlike any other.
An embryo had been conceived in 1992 and was then frozen for over two decades. That embryo is now Tina and Benjamin’s baby, Emma. Emma’s birth marks the longest an embryo was frozen, and then successfully carried in utero. Emma was conceived when her mother was just 18 months old! Their daughter’s birth at the end of November has a lot of scientists cheering.
Tina and Benjamin were married when she was 19 and he was 26. Because Tina has cystic fibrosis, her life expectancy is just into her 30s. Fertility is a common problem for women with cystic fibrosis. The couple first fostered a child before deciding to have a family of their own. They spent hours pouring over information to choose an adoptable embryo. When they chose Emma, they didn’t know her age.
They finally discovered the news the morning of the transfer. Medical staff told them if it was a successful pregnancy, it would be the longest time an embryo had been frozen and ended up being carried to term. The world record holder was frozen for 19 years. Emma had been conceived 24 years earlier.
Tina made an astute observation about her similarity in age to her daughter. “Then later it hit me when they were about to do the transfer. I said, “you know, I’m just 25… me and her, we could’ve been best friends,” she said.
They were initially going to adopt in a traditional way. Then, Tina’s dad mentioned that he heard about embryo adoption. They couldn’t get the thought out of their heads. Their embryo adoption was handled by the National Embryo Adoption Center in Knoxville. The Gibsons is one of 700 pregnancies from this center, which is the most successful of its kind in the world.
The Gibsons are religious and trusted God throughout this process. An interview with the new parents is in the video below.
What an amazing story! It’s unbelievable to think that Tina was conceived just months before the daughter she gave birth to. Science and adoption made this family possible!
Share this story if you think this family’s baby is a true miracle!
Source: Daily Mail
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