Birth parents to sue fertility clinic after embryo mix-up

An Israeli couple whose daughter was born following an embryo mix-up is suing their fertility clinic for $27 million.

The couple had IVF treatment at the Assuta Medical Centre in Rishon Lezion, Israel, and became pregnant. However, prenatal tests showed that the fetus was not related to the woman or her husband (see BioNews 1160). Until Israel's High Court of Justice ruled earlier this month that baby Sophia should remain with the birth parents and no further genetic tests should take place, the family have lived with the possibility that her genetic parents could try to claim her.

That High Court decision was welcomed by the couple, who said: 'We received Sophia as a gift today once again'.

The couple initially announced plans to sue in December (see BioNews 1171) but delayed bringing the action until after the High Court's ruling on whether further testing should occur. According to the Times of Israel, the lawsuit will focus on the neglect and incompetence of the clinic in allowing the mix-up to happen, and the distress the family has experienced as a result.

After the mix-up was discovered, an anonymous employee of the clinic claimed to have witnessed negligent handling of embryos on several occasions. Israel's Health Ministry subsequently considered forcing Assuta's IVF unit to shut down, but instead demanded it reduce the number of treatment cycles it carries out by half.

After the prenatal genetic test results were reported to the Health Ministry the clinic tried to identify who the embryo had belonged to. When this failed, the Lod District Court ordered genetic testing of fetal tissue to try to identify the genetic parents prior to the birth (see BioNews 1164), but the couple deemed most likely were ruled out.

Sophia was born in October, her birth parents were given custody, and the Health Ministry ceased trying to find the genetic parents (see BioNews 1165). However, in December Rishon Lezion Family Court ruled that several couples who believed they could be Sophia's genetic parents could have genetic testing to see if they were related. At least one of the couples declared that they would fight for custody if a genetic connection was discovered (see BioNews 1171).

These couples were waiting to be tested but will not be as a result of the High Court of Justice's ruling that the birth mother's interests outweighed theirs.

'You cannot forcibly turn the mother into a surrogate, and the status of the birth mother as the minor's parent can only be revoked in the most exceptional of cases,' ruled Judge Alex Stein.