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A Brisbane woman gave birth to a stranger’s baby after Monash IVF mixed up embryos.
Monash IVF apologised, citing “human error”, and has commissioned an independent investigation into the incident.
Chief executive Michael Knaap expressed regret and assured additional audits to prevent future errors.
A Brisbane woman has recently discovered that she gave birth to a stranger’s baby after a leading fertility clinic mixed up her embryos.
Monash IVF has apologised after the woman was unknowingly given another patient’s embryo following treatment at one of its 23 clinics, citing “human error” for the unthinkable blunder.
The medical facility reportedly became aware of the mix-up in February after the birth parents asked to transfer their remaining frozen embryos to another provider, ABC reports.
“Instead of finding the expected number of embryos, an additional embryo remained in storage for the birth parents,” a Monash IVF spokesperson told the publication.
“[An] investigation confirmed that an embryo from a different patient had previously been incorrectly thawed and transferred to the birth parents, which resulted in the birth of a child.”
The families used IVF to create the embryos. Photo / 123rf
Chief executive Michael Knaap said everyone at the fertility clinic was “devastated” at the mistake, which came to light just six months after Monash IVF agreed to pay a AUD$56 million ($60m) class action settlement to hundreds of patients whose embryos were wrongly destroyed.
“On behalf of Monash IVF, I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened,” Knaap said.
“Since becoming aware of this incident, we have undertaken additional audits and we’re confident that this is an isolated incident.”
The fertility clinic has also commissioned an independent investigation into the incident, the BBC reported.
Last August, Monash IVF reached a settlement in a landmark class action with 700 former patients for destroying embryos after inaccurate genetic testing.
The case found that about 35% of the embryos, which were actually normal and could have resulted in a viable pregnancy, were found to be abnormal by the faulty screening.
Despite the huge payout, Monash IVF made no admission of liability.
‘Broken’
The admission comes from Monash comes after a “broken” mother in the US has been forced to give up the child she carried to term and bonded with for five months after a horrifying mix-up at an IVF clinic.
Thirty-eight-year-old Krystena Murray from Savannah, Georgia, is suing Coastal Fertility Specialists after an embryo from another couple was implanted into her womb.
“The birth of my child was supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, and honestly, it was. But it was also the scariest moment of my life,” Murray said in a press conference with personal injury firm Peiffer Wolf.
Murray, a single white woman, had opted for IVF and chosen a sperm donor who was a white man with blue eyes and dirty blonde hair.
She went through the IVF process and gave birth to a baby boy in December 2023.
She told the press conference she had always wanted to be a mother and his birth was the realisation of a life’s dream.
But she knew something had gone wrong at the clinic. Her baby was black.
Krystena Murray said she knew something was wrong immediately. Photo / Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise
“My first thought was, ‘He’s beautiful.’ My second thought was, ‘What happened?‘”
She immediately questioned if the child was hers at all but bonded instantly with the little boy and nurtured him for five months as DNA tests were completed.
The results were clear. They shared no DNA.
And so, five months after she finally became a mum, she was forced to hand the boy over to his biological parents.
“I’ve never felt so violated,” an “emotionally and physically broken” Murray said during the press conference.
