A US couple is suing an IVF clinic for destroying seven embryos by not storing them correctly.
Kara Seldin-Howell and Kolton Howell from Pierce County, Washington, had IVF treatment at CNY Fertility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and were informed that seven viable embryos were created. The couple was planning to have preimplantation genetic testing conducted on the embryos before freezing them. However, two days after the news of their embryos' creation, Dr Paul Margarelli from CNY informed the couple that clinic staff had inadvertently destroyed all seven.
According to the lawsuit: 'CNY Fertility's in-house laboratory professionals had failed to properly place an oil medium – the same "nourishing media that mimics the internal environment of a fallopian tube"... to preserve the embryos and facilitate their growth.' It continues: 'By failing to properly place the oil medium in the petri dish, CNY Fertility caused the embryos to dry out and die.'
The legal complaint accuses the clinic of 'gross negligence and reckless acts and omissions' that led to the destruction of the embryos. Seldin-Howell described a 'rollercoaster of emotions' as she and her husband discovered the news of their embryos' creation, followed almost immediately by the news of their accidental destruction. The couple claims to have suffered financial harm as well as 'severe emotional trauma' as a result of the loss.
The couple's lawyer – Adam Wolf of Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise – believes the incident was preventable: 'The fact that CNY Fertility could destroy our clients' embryos and only now promise to start "double-checking" laboratory work speaks volumes about the lack of oversight of the IVF industry'.
Sources and References
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Colorado fertility clinic sued over lost embryos
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Kara Seldin-Howell and Kolton Howell Plaintiffs, v. CNY Fertility, PLLC and CNY Fertility Colorado, PLLC
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Couple sues IVF clinic for allegedly destroying their embryos: Our 'dream' as 'ripped away from us'
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Couple sues Colorado fertility clinic over loss of embryos: Lab failure 'robbed us of our future'
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