After being frozen as embryos for 15 years, two twins were finally born into a Sandy family in November.
Nathan and Grace Beldock, parents of now seven children all aged nine and under, welcomed Simon and Thaddeus into their family. The boys’ frozen embryos were transferred to Grace just over a year ago and she became pregnant through a process known as embryo donation.
Dr. John Gordon explains the process of embryo fertilization, stating that embryos are frozen in liquid nitrogen before being matched to a recipient woman’s uterus and her lining for the embryos. According to the National Embryo Donation Center, there are potentially a million frozen embryos that are left over from couples who have gone through in-vitro fertilization.
University of Utah Health Dr. Erica Jonhstone says that there is a small but growing number of her patients using embryo donation to have children. When asked about the 15 year old embryos being born, Jonhstone said that she wasn’t surprised at all. Johnstone did however say that the process of embryo donation isn’t free of potential problems, as embryo donors are often not screened for infectious or genetic diseases. She says it’s important to ask those types of questions about the people who originally created the embryos.
But life for Grace and Nathan Beldock’s family of nine couldn’t be happier. According to Nathan, it’s an amazing acknowledgement of life that they were born the way they were.
