Theos-Talk Archives (February 1998 Message tt00215)

There are a number of theosophical issues that arise from the
following real-world situation. It provides us with much to think
about.

Just mentioning the astrological slant ...

Is the astrological chart of the child the true chart? Should the
time be based upon when the embryo would have been born, if not
frozen for seven years? Because there's a different astrological
chart, did the parents force a personality change on their future
child -- or did the initial child "die" when the embryo was frozen
and a new, different in-coming soul animate the form when thawed
out and revitalized?

-- Eldon

----

TARZANA, Calif. (AP) -- An embryo kept on ice for seven and a
half years has developed into a healthy baby boy -- apparently
the world's oldest newborn.

The child was delivered by Caesarean section Monday afternoon at
Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center. He weighed 8 pounds, 15
ounces and was 21 inches long, according to a statement from the
hospital.

Kara Welter, a hospital spokeswoman, said the infertility doctor,
obstetrician and pediatrician present for the birth pronounced
the baby "very healthy."

The parents are from the San Fernando Valley but the names of the
child, his 44-year-old mother and 54-year-old father were being
withheld to protect their privacy, the hospital said.

The embryo was frozen in 1989 after the couple underwent
infertility treatment at a different facility. The parents, who
had another boy from the previous treatment, forgot about the
frozen embryo until last year when they received a letter asking
what they wanted to do with it.

They decided to have another child, and doctors implanted the
embryo in the mother.

Vermesh, the infertility specialist who performed the in vitro
fertilization that created the embryo, said the parents
understood the risks involved in implanting an embryo frozen for
so many years.

"They are a very intelligent couple. They understand the risks.
They understand the situation very well," said Vermesh, head of
the Center for Human Reproduction in Tarzana. "They understand
that despite all the testing that we performed during the
pregnancy, there is no complete assurance of the complete
well-being of the baby until the baby is born."

Sonya Forster, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Human
Reproduction in Chicago, a national chain of infertility centers,
said a search of the medical literature indicated that the baby
was a product of the oldest-known frozen embryo.

She said another embryo was implanted after 5 years of being
frozen, but there was no indication whether it resulted in a live
birth.

Welter said the doctors told her that if an older frozen embryo
has been successfully implanted, "no one has published any
studies and they haven't let anybody know."