“Snowbaby” Born After 24 Years

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• embryo: an unborn life, formed from a fertilized egg
• donate: to give away for use by another
• implant: to place firmly in a position
• uterus: the place where new life is conceived and formed inside a woman’s body
• adopt: to take as one’s own

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“Snowbaby” Born after 24 Years

A baby girl born from the world’s longest-known embryo has made international news. The embryo was donated almost 25 years ago and was implanted in the uterus of a young woman just this year. Baby Emma is considered a “snowbaby” because the embryo was frozen for so long. The couple from Tennessee that adopted the embryo say they did not they were breaking a world record and only found out after the implantation how old the embryo was. The new mother was only in 1992 when the embryo was frozen.

Comprehension Questions

1. How long was the embryo frozen?
2. What didn’t the young couple know?
3. Why is the mother’s age significant?

Discussion Questions

Each year, thousands of embryos are left in storage at a cost to those who conceived them. Parents have many options. They can try to get pregnant again, donate the embryos to research or infertile couples, or dispose of the embryos. Why is this decision so difficult? What would you do?