After tragedy, a Greek couple welcomes a daughter born from an embryo frozen for 22 years

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Out of their darkest moment, a Greek couple managed to make a new start with a baby born this week. Doing so meant using one of Cristina Rapti‑Tzelepi's decades-old embryos and racing to beat a government deadline.

Just months after their 21‑year‑old son died in a road crash in October, Rapti‑Tzelepi, now 54, and her husband made the decision to pursue another attempt using an embryo frozen for 22 years.

Rapti-Tzelepi was running up against the Greek government's 54-year age limit for women to complete in vitro fertilization procedures and secure approval from a national authority. When she started, time was already running short.

“I only had a 2½-month window,” she said. “It was stressful, but with inner strength and our doctor and his whole team by our side, we got through every obstacle.”

She gave birth on Wednesday in the Greek capital, Athens, to a girl who weighed in at 3.49 kilograms (7 pounds, 11 ounces). In a hospital room brightened with pink balloons and flowers on Friday, the new parents were overcome with emotion.

“We decided to give life a second chance, to make a new start, bring new life into our home and keep our family’s story going,” Rapti-Tzelepi said, sitting on her bed in black pajamas. “My wish for her is to grow up healthy and happy, full of joy like our first child, who filled our home with laughter.”

The child was born using the woman’s embryo that had been frozen more than 22 years ago, an unusually long time for a frozen fertilized egg to be used to produce a pregnancy.

Last year, 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, Rapti-Tzelepi's gynecologist 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.

“The law is very strict: 54 plus one day is not allowed. Maybe it’s time for it to change,” said Pantos, a native of Melbourne, Australia. “I think it’s a right (parents) should not be deprived of.”

The baby’s 60-year-old father, Constantinos Raptis, held his new daughter as she slept on his shoulder, wrapped in a white bodysuit. He said that he was deeply grateful to the doctor for restoring hope to his family.

“He took us by the hand and pulled us out of our deepest darkness,” Raptis said. “We escaped from that darkness, and I believe we have a lot to live for now.”

The couple named their daughter Georgia in honor of their late son, Giorgos, also born thanks to IVF. They haven't ruled out trying for another child — possibly by traveling abroad.

Theodora Tongas, Lefteris Pitarakis and Thanassis Stavrakis contributed to this report.

An image of the Raptis couple's embryo is displayed on a laboratory monitor as clinical embryologists work at a private IVF clinic in Athens, Greece, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Rena Aggeli, a clinical embryologist, carries out an egg freezing procedure at a private IVF clinic in Athens, Greece, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Cristina Rapti-Tzelepi, 54, holds the hand of her three-day-old daughter, Georgia, at a private maternity clinic in Athens, Greece, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Cristina Rapti-Tzelepi, 54, breastfeeds her three-day-old daughter, Georgia, as her husband, Constantinos Raptis, 60, caresses the infant's head at a private maternity clinic in Athens, Greece, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Cristina Rapti-Tzelepi, 54, holds her three-day-old daughter, Georgia, as her husband, Constantinos Raptis, 60, stands in the background at a private maternity clinic in Athens, Greece, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Junior Caminero sent the Tampa Bay Rays to the playoffs.

The Rays became the first major league team to secure a postseason spot, beating the Houston Astros 3-1 Friday night on Caminero's game-ending, two-run homer — his 40th of the season.

Tampa Bay (88-59) has held the American League's best record for 115 days this season. The Rays began Friday with a three-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East. The next goals for Tampa Bay are securing the division title and then locking up the AL's best record and a first-round playoff bye.

It's the first playoff berth in three seasons for the Rays, who lost both games to Texas in a wild-card series in 2023.

The Rays locked up a postseason spot earlier than any team since the Atlanta Braves did it on Sept. 10, 2023, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

However, among the clubs that were first to secure playoff berths over the previous 10 seasons, only the Chicago Cubs (2016), Boston Red Sox (2018), Los Angeles Dodgers (2020) and New York Yankees (2024) have reached the World Series.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Tampa Bay Rays' Victor Mesa Jr. reacts after his solo home run off Houston Astros pitcher Ethan Pecko during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Rays' Victor Mesa Jr. celebrates his solo home run off Houston Astros pitcher Ethan Pecko with Chandler Simpson (14) during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)