Greek couple welcomes daughter conceived from 22-year-old frozen embryo
A 54-year-old Greek mother gave birth to a baby girl using an embryo that had been frozen for 22 years, just before the country's age limit for IVF procedures expired.
A Greek couple welcomed a newborn daughter in Athens after using an embryo that had been frozen for more than two decades. The mother, 54, decided to attempt another pregnancy following the death of her 21-year-old son in a road accident. She faced a government-mandated age limit that bars women over 54 from undergoing in-vitro fertilization, leaving her with a narrow 2½-month window to act.
“I only had a 2½-month window. It was stressful, but with inner strength and our doctor and his whole team by our side, we got through every obstacle,” the mother said.
The baby, weighing 3.49 kilograms, was delivered on Wednesday in a hospital in Athens. The father expressed gratitude to the physician who assisted the family.
“He took us by the hand and pulled us out of our deepest darkness,” he said.
Dr. Kostas Pantos, head of the Hellenic Society of Reproductive Medicine, noted that Greece’s strict age restrictions may need revision given the nation’s declining birth rate.
“The law is very strict: 54 plus one day is not allowed. Maybe it is time for it to change,” Pantos said.
The child was named Georgia in memory of the couple’s late son, Giorgos, who was also born through IVF. The parents have not ruled out seeking additional children abroad.