Cristina Rapti-Tzelepi gave birth in Athens after doctors transferred an embryo frozen more than two decades ago, months after the death of her 21-year-old son.
By Wapcodehub9ja LIVE News: International Health & Science Desk
A 54-year-old Greek woman has given birth to a baby girl after doctors successfully used an embryo that had been frozen for more than 22 years.
Cristina Rapti-Tzelepi delivered the baby, named Georgia, at a private maternity clinic in Athens on Wednesday. The newborn weighed 3.49 kilograms, according to reports from the Associated Press.
The birth came several months after Rapti-Tzelepi and her husband, Constantinos Raptis, lost their 21-year-old son, Giorgos, in a road accident. The couple decided to try for another child using one of the embryos that had remained in storage since their earlier IVF treatment.
The embryo came from the same batch that had helped the couple conceive Giorgos in 2004. The successful pregnancy therefore carried a particularly strong emotional significance for the family.
Rapti-Tzelepi was also facing a strict deadline because Greece currently limits IVF treatment for women to those aged 54 or younger. She said she had only about two and a half months to complete the required process and obtain approval.
The procedure was carried out after the transfer of the decades-old embryo, which had remained frozen since the couple’s earlier fertility treatment. The successful birth demonstrates that embryos can remain viable after extended periods of cryopreservation when properly stored and subsequently used in assisted reproduction.
The couple named their daughter Georgia in honour of their late son, Giorgos. Rapti-Tzelepi said the family’s wish was for the child to grow up healthy and happy while bringing new life and hope into their home.
The case has also renewed discussion about Greece’s age restrictions for assisted reproduction. Gynecologist Kostas Pantos, who treated Rapti-Tzelepi and heads the Hellenic Society of Reproductive Medicine, has argued that the current age limit should be reconsidered.
The family reportedly has additional embryos in storage and has considered having another child, although the existing Greek age restriction could prevent further treatment within the country.
The birth has attracted international attention because of the unusually long period between embryo freezing and the successful pregnancy. However, it is not considered the longest-known case involving a frozen embryo: an Ohio couple previously had a baby from an embryo frozen for more than 30 years through embryo adoption.
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