A baby whose embryo was frozen in 1994 is born in Ohio.

His name is Thaddeus Daniel Pierce, and he's only been around for a few days, but he's been around for over 30 years. His biological mother is 62, he has a 30-year-old sister and a 10-year-old niece. And his surrogate mother was herself a baby when he was conceived. This extraordinary biography is the story of the so-called "world's oldest baby," who was adopted as an embryo by a couple from Ohio (USA), Lindsey and Tim Pierce (Lindsey was the surrogate mother), who had been trying unsuccessfully to become a father for seven years.

The milestone isn't new, according to MIT Technology Review , but it does mark the birth of the baby who spent the longest time frozen as an embryo. Thaddeus was conceived in 1994 as part of an in vitro fertilization program attended by his biological parents. Of the four fertilized embryos, one girl was born, and the other three were frozen for the couple, who were having difficulty conceiving a boy.

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Eventually, Linda Archerd—the baby's biological mother—and her partner divorced. Archerd's "three little hopes" (as she called them) remained stored in the fertility clinic, under her care, like millions of other frozen embryos today.

Years later, Thaddeus's biological mother learned about the U.S. embryo adoption system, which takes care of donated embryos and assists families struggling to conceive a baby. It was there that the baby's parents, Lindsey and Tim Pierce, ages 35 and 34, enrolled in the same program. Lindsey had two embryos implanted. Only Thaddeus's was viable.

Although both told MIT Technology Review that "the delivery was complicated," the baby is doing well. Medically, there were certain risks precisely because of the long freezing time for Thaddeus's embryo.

Speaking to MIT Magazine, John Gordon, director of the fertility clinic where the Pierces sought parenthood, noted, "Every embryo deserves a chance at life, and the only embryo that cannot give rise to a healthy baby is one that is not given the opportunity to be transferred to a patient." Gordon is a born-again Presbyterian. Embryo adoptions in the U.S. are generally handled by Christian organizations.