54-year-old Greek woman welcomes daughter from 22-year-old frozen embryo

A Greek woman has given birth to a baby girl using an embryo that had been frozen for more than 22 years, according to The Independent.

Cristina Rapti-Tzelepi, 54, and her husband Constantinos Raptis, 60, decided to have another child months after their 21-year-old son, Giorgos, died in a road crash in October.

Rapti-Tzelepi faced a narrow window to complete the process, as Greek law sets a 54-year age limit for women to secure approval for IVF, further noting she had just two and a half months to act.

She gave birth on Wednesday to a daughter weighing 3.49 kilograms, whom the couple named Georgia in honour of their late son.

Dr Kostas Pantos, her gynaecologist, argued that Greece’s age restrictions warrant review given the country’s declining birth rate, adding that the ability to have children is “a right (parents) should not be deprived of.”