A major Australian IVF clinic has apologized for giving the wrong embryo to a woman who then gave birth to another couple’s baby, blaming the mix-up on “human error.”
Monash IVF, which operates more than 100 clinics across Australia, said in a statement staff were “devastated” by the mistake, believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
“On behalf of Monash IVF, I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened,” said CEO Michael Knaap in the statement. “We will continue to support the patients through this extremely distressing time.”
The error occurred at Monash IVF’s Brisbane clinic, in the state of Queensland, where the law recognizes the birth mother and her partner as the child’s legal parents.
It’s not clear whether either of the couples suspected a mix-up before the clinic discovered the error.
Alex Polyakov, a clinical associate professor at the University of Melbourne and a fertility consultant at Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital, said it was the first incident of its kind in four decades of IVF in Australia.
“Australia’s regulatory framework for assisted reproductive technology is internationally recognized for its stringency and thoroughness,” he said in written comments.
“The probability of such an event occurring is so low that it defies statistical quantification.”
How did it happen?
The mistake was discovered in February after the birth parents requested to transfer their remaining embryos to another IVF provider.
After an extra embryo was found in their storage compartment, an internal inquiry discovered they’d received the wrong embryo.
It’s not clear how the error was made but according to the Monash IVF statement, another patient’s embryo was “incorrectly thawed and transferred to the birth parents.”
Knaap, the company’s CEO, said he was confident it was “an isolated incident.”
“We are reinforcing all our safeguards across our clinics – we also commissioned an independent investigation and are committed to implementing its recommendations in full,” he added.
Sarah Jefford, an Australian lawyer who deals exclusively in surrogacy, donor conception and co-parenting, said she had received calls from clients worried about their own IVF treatment.
“We do not have legal precedence for this in Australia,” she said. “Our laws presume that the birth parents are the legal parents of a child, however this is open to challenge when the genetic parents did not consent to their embryo being used.”
She said any decision about the child’s future will be based on their best interests, but the ramifications will be “lifelong for everyone involved.”
The Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) said in a statement that it was “aware of the serious incident,” and its immediate thoughts were with the families affected.
It said such incidents are rare and require “the highest standards of transparency.”
Similar errors have been made in the United States, including a recent case where a White woman discovered she’d been given the wrong embryo after giving birth to a Black infant.
This is not the first time Monash IVF has been accused of wrongdoing.
Last year, the company agreed to pay 56 million Australian dollars ($35 million) to settle a class action suit brought by 700 former patients.
The patients alleged the company didn’t disclose the risk of false positives in genetic testing on embryos, which led them to discard potentially viable embryos.
This story has been updated with additional information.
