Emma Gibson was frozen as an embryo in 1992 and was born in 2017, more than 25 years later. It's the longest embryo who is known to have been frozen before being born as baby. The embryo is only a year younger than the woman who gave birth to her. The procedure to make this possible involves removing eggs from the ovaries, fertilizing them to create embryos, letting them grow for several days and then freezing them. The embryos are put in a special solution containing substances (cryoprotectants), which help to draw water out from the embryo and provide protection in the cells. This protects them from damage caused by ice crystals forming during the freezing. When thawed, the fertilized embryos can be implanted either in the patient or in another person.
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