Adele MacGregorTHE oldest baby in the world has been born from an embryo conceived thirteen years ago and frozen in a fertility clinic.
Doctors María Luisa López-Teijón and Juan Alvarez oversaw the treatment at the Instituto Marqués clinic in Barcelona. The infant was born from an embryo donated by parents who underwent successful fertility treatment in the early 1990s, thereby pushing the boundaries of science in this field. Many countries limit the preservation of fertilised eggs to five years but this birth furthers the previous record of twelve years from conception to birth.
The Instituto Marqués clinic is a frequent destination for British couples struggling to conceive or gain IVF treatment in the UK. In addition those born as a product of fertility treatment in Spain do not have the right to access their biological parents whilst a recent law in Britain grants this right to children born in the UK. It is therefore unlikely that the newborn will meet its genetic non-identical twin brother or sister who will now be thirteen years old.
