Baby born to wrong parents after embryo mix-up at Monash IVF

A woman has discovered she gave birth to another couple's baby due to an IVF embryo mix-up.

An Australian woman unwittingly gave birth to a stranger's baby after the wrong embryo was transferred to her uterus. The mix-up happened at a fertility clinic in Brisbane, Australia, managed by Monash IVF. The provider said the incident was the result of 'human error', and that it has commissioned an independent investigation into the matter.

'All of us at Monash IVF are devastated and we apologise to everyone involved. We will continue to support the patients through this extremely distressing time,' Monash IVF's CEO Michael Knaap said in an official statement, reported by ABC News. 'Since becoming aware of this incident, we have undertaken additional audits and we're confident that this is an isolated incident.'

The mix-up came to light in February, after the birth parents asked for their remaining embryos to be sent to another IVF provider. When preparing for this transfer, clinic staff found one more embryo than expected in storage for the birth parents.

'[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,' a spokesperson from Monash IVF explained.

The clinic did not confirm when the baby was born. The incident was reported to Queensland Health, a government agency that recently became the state's assisted reproductive technology regulator. A spokeswoman for Queensland Health said the embryo transfer took place prior to this change.

The spokeswoman added, 'we will work with Monash IVF to reinforce safeguards in their Queensland clinics and ensure any risks are identified and mitigated.'

Monash IVF is responsible for around one quarter of fertility treatments in Australia and also has clinics in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Both the birth and biological families involved in the embryo mix-up are now considering legal action against Monash IVF. Recently, lawsuits were brought in the USA (see BioNews 1278) and Israel (see BioNews 1281) following similar incidents. It is not yet known whether the biological parents will challenge for legal parenthood of the child.

Following the incident, Monash IVF stock value was down 35 percent, the company's biggest drop since listing on the market over ten years ago.

Last year, the provider settled a class action lawsuit, brought by over 700 former patients following the erroneous destruction of viable embryos, for AUS$56 million. Allegedly faulty genetic testing determined that the embryos were not healthy. However, it was later confirmed that around 35 percent of the embryos were healthy and could have been used (see BioNews 1081).