A Greek woman gave birth to a girl last Wednesday after transferring an embryo that had been frozen 22 years ago. This child was born months after her son, who was born through the same procedure in 2004, died in a car accident.
Gynecologist Konstantinos Pantos noted that for Christina Rapti-Tsilepi, this birth holds special emotional significance. He reported that in 2004, she gave birth to a healthy boy after an embryo transfer. However, in October 2025, the family suffered the tragic loss of their son in a traffic accident at the age of 21.
Rapti-Tsilepi, aged 54, has reached the maximum age permitted in Greece for in vitro fertilization. As Pantos clarified, she gave birth to a girl on Wednesday after transferring an embryo from the same initial batch.
Christina Rapti-Tsilepi told state television ERT that on that day, sorrow and joy mingled, but everything disappeared in the morning when they held their baby. Her husband, Konstantinos Raptis, stated that the family was in a 'race against time' to bring the pregnancy to completion.
Raptis emphasized that his wife had literally reached the limits of the age restrictions set by current legislation. He called for the abolition of the national age limit for IVF, arguing that 'older women possess an immeasurable ability to give mature, conscious, and unconditional love, as well as stability that no statistics can fully measure.'
Pantos added that the couple has nine more embryos in storage and would like to have another child, but currently cannot do so according to the law. At the same time, the Greek birth rate has been declining for many years; according to state statistics for 2025, the birth rate fell by more than 2800 compared to the previous year.
Nevertheless, the data also shows an increase in the number of births among mothers over 40 in the last two decades. Rapti-Tsilepi appealed to women, saying: 'Women should not be afraid... science is safe... I advise couples who have struggled for years not to give up.' She added that people should not be deprived of their dreams and desires in a country with a serious birth rate problem.