A Greek couple welcomes a baby from an embryo frozen for 22 years

A 54-year-old woman in Athens has given birth to a baby girl who grew from an embryo frozen for more than 22 years. The mother, Cristina Rapti-Tzelepi, and her husband Constantinos Raptis named the baby Georgia. An embryo is the very early beginning of a baby, before it grows inside the mother.

The couple had a painful reason to try again. Their son Giorgos was born in 2004 after IVF, a treatment that helps people have a baby. But in October 2025, Giorgos died in a road crash at the age of 21. Months later, his parents decided to use another embryo from the same treatment.

Cristina was 54, the oldest age at which Greek law allows IVF. She had only two and a half months to finish the treatment and get permission. On Wednesday she gave birth to Georgia. Cristina said: "My wish for her is to grow up healthy and happy, full of joy like our first child, who filled our home with laughter."

The birth has started a discussion about Greece's age limit for IVF. The number of babies born in Greece has fallen a lot, so Dr. Kostas Pantos, the doctor who led the treatment, said the law is very strict and maybe it is time to change it. The couple still has nine frozen embryos. Greek law would not allow Cristina to carry another baby there, so they may try again in another country. For this family, Georgia is a very personal new beginning.