At the time, Ms Archerd initially created four embryos. One become her now-30-year-old daughter, and the other three were left in storage.
Despite separating from her husband, she did not want to get rid of the embryos, donate them for research or give them to another family anonymously.
She said it was important that she was involved with the baby, as they would be related to her adult daughter.
Ms Archerd paid thousands of dollars a year for storage until she found a Christian embryo adoption agency, Nightlight Christian Adoptions, which runs a programme known as Snowflakes. Many of these agencies consider their programmes to be saving lives.
The programme used by Ms Archerd allows donors to choose a couple, meaning they can state religious, racial and nationality preferences.
Ms Archerd’s preference was for a married Caucasian, Christian couple living in the US, as she didn’t want to “go out of the country”, she told MIT Technology Review.
She ultimately matched with the Pierces.
The IVF clinic in Tennessee at which the couple underwent the procedure, Rejoice Fertility, said its aim was to transfer any embryo it received, no matter the age or conditions.
Ms Pierce said she and her husband did not set out to “break any records”, but just “wanted to have a baby”.
Ms Archerd told MIT Technology Review she had not met the baby in person yet, but could already see a resemblance with her daughter.