A Florida couple has given birth to a baby boy who was adopted as an embryo that had been frozen for 15 years.
Amanda and Jeremy Lewand decided to adopt an embryo that was donated to an adoption agency (as an embryo) after struggling with fertility issues. The couple wanted to share their story in hopes of inspiring other couples who had the same issues.
“It was all worth it,” Amanda says. “After going through infertility, we had longed for a child so bad.”
But for little Noah, the wait was even longer…
“He was frozen in August 2005, so he was 15 years old when he was put inside me!’ Amanda says. Noah was born in February at Capital Regional Medical Center and spent a week in the NICU before coming home.
“He’s just a very easy-going baby,” Jeremy says.
The process was made possible by Embryo adoption.
“They have a list of profiles online,” Amanda says. Through the Florida Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Dozens of parent profiles are available — allowing people to basically choose the baby of their dreams.
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‘We were given some basic personality characteristics and medical history, as well as physical characteristics” Jeremy says. “And those are some of the things we used to determine which profile we were going to pick.”
“We wanted a child that somewhat resembled our physical characteristics, so we wanted dark hair,” Amanda says.
The embryo adoption program consists of roughly 50 donor couples, all of who have gone through in vitro fertilization (IVF) themselves — to which they then gift their leftover cryopreserved embryos to be used by other couples who are struggling with IVF.
“They gave us a chance to experience pregnancy and have our child, sorry, I’m getting emotional,” Amanda Lewand says.
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After four years of trying, the option was presented to the Lewands after doctors determined both Amanda and Jeremy had severe reproductive issues.
”We knew that if we didn’t pursue this, then it was going to be something we regret later on,” Jeremy says.
The couple is now adjusting to life at home with a baby and planning for all the exciting parenthood milestones.
“We need to celebrate his anniversary in the freezer, definitely!” Amanda says.
The couple says if they had to give a message to those who are struggling with infertility, it would be to keep going and don’t give up.
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