A Greek couple have made a fresh start following tragedy by welcoming a baby girl this week, using an embryo preserved for more than two decades. Cristina Rapti-Tzelepi, now 54, and her husband Constantinos Raptis, now 60, decided to have another baby just months after their 21-year-old son, Giorgos, died in a road crash in October. Ms Rapti-Tzelepi faced a race against time, as the Greek government has a 54-year age limit for women to secure approval from a national authority and complete IVF procedures.
Time was already running short when she started her treatment. Inside a hospital room brightened with pink balloons and flowers on Friday, the new parents were overcome with emotion. The little girl was born using Ms Rapti-Tzelepi’s embryo that had been frozen more than 22 years ago, an unusually long time for a frozen fertilised egg to be used to produce a pregnancy.
In 2025, an Ohio couple welcomed a baby boy developed from an embryo frozen for more than 30 years through a process known as “ embryo adoption”, and earned recognition from Guinness World Records. Dr Kostas Pantos, Ms Rapti-Tzelepi's gynaecologist and head of the Hellenic Society of Reproductive Medicine, argued that Greece’s age restrictions warrant review, noting the country’s steep birth rate decline. Maybe it’s time for it to change,” said Dr Pantos, a native of Melbourne, Australia.
He said that he is deeply grateful to the doctor for restoring hope to his family.
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