Local family shares embryo adoption story

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Earlier this week, a Tennessee baby broke records after being born from a 27-year-old embryo.

It’s a story that went viral across the nation.

The National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) is one of the only facilities in the country that takes in embryos, stores them, implants them, and goes with the mother throughout the entire process.

”We accept embryos that are remaining from other people’s successful IVF, these are couples that are done building their family and have embryos left over. They don’t want to destroy them or donate them to science, they want to give other families a chance to have children,” Mark Mellinger explained.

Mellinger, Marketing Director at the NEDC says, the organization has helped produce more than 1,000 children.

One of them is right here in the Tennessee Valley.

”God was bringing us to her, we didn’t know that. We didn’t even know she existed and was frozen in some container somewhere in Tennessee,” Trish Clardy said.

Trish and Aaron Clardy have been married for 14 years. They struggled with pregnancy for years.

Last year, they decided on traditional adoption, then learned about the NEDC.

”The fact that I got to carry her was like the cherry on top. We still are getting to adopt this wonderful child, plus god gave us the opportunity to experience this from the beginning,” Clardy continued.

The Clardy’s daughter Sadie turned one Friday.

They say the last year has been amazing, and they were lucky to work from home the last several months to spend time with their daughter.

”A lot of fathers don’t get that, a lot of people have to go out and work. She was able to work from home with the school system. You get to see those milestones that a lot of people don’t get to see,” Aaron Clardy said.

To learn more about embryo donation, adoption, and the NEDC, click here.

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