As time went on, she explored embryo adoption but ran into resistance from clinics reluctant to work with embryos frozen for that long. Eventually, she connected with a facility willing to help, and she took the leap to place the embryos for adoption — with one important request: she wanted to remain involved, as the baby would be a full sibling to her daughter.

A Match Made Through Embryo Adoption

Lindsey and Tim had been trying to conceive for seven years before turning to embryo adoption. They connected with the Snowflakes embryo adoption program run by Nightlight Christian Adoptions — a service that lets donors select recipients based on preferences like religion, nationality, and race.

Linda chose to match with a married, Caucasian Christian couple living in the U.S., and was paired with the Pierces.

“This has been pretty surreal,” Linda told MIT Technology Review, adding that it’s still “hard to even believe.”

Beth Button, the executive director of the Snowflakes program, revealed that “over 90% of clinics in the US would not have accepted these embryos” because of how long they had been frozen.

Now that Thaddeus is here, Linda is excited to meet him. After seeing photos sent by Lindsey, she was struck by how much the baby looks like her daughter.

“The first thing that I noticed when Lindsey sent me his pictures is how much he looks like my daughter when she was a baby,” Linda said. “I pulled out my baby book and compared them side by side, and there is no doubt that they are siblings.”

Adding to the mind-bending nature of the story, Thaddeus’ father, Tim, was just a toddler when the embryos were first created.

Despite the unusual path to his arrival, baby Thaddeus is healthy, cherished, and making history just by being born. Congratulations to Lindsey, Tim, and everyone involved in bringing this remarkable little boy into the world.