PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsJudge awards birth mother custody of twins after Italian IVF mix-up

BioNews

Judge awards birth mother custody of twins after Italian IVF mix-up

Published 18 August 2014 posted in News and appears in BioNews 767

Author

Dr Antony Starza-Allen

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

An Italian judge has ordered that two children born following an embryo mix-up at a Rome fertility clinic should reside with the birth mother and not with the twins' biological parents....

An Italian judge has ordered that two children born following an embryo mix-up at a Rome fertility clinic should reside with the birth mother and not with the twins' biological parents.

The birth mother found out about the mistake three months into the pregnancy, but refused to hand over the children to their biological parents whose embryo had been mistakenly transferred.

Speaking last April when she found out the twins were not her biological children, the birth mother said: 'I had a moment of human rejection when I knew that they were not mine, or rather ours, that the embryos that I was carrying were of another woman, but then we decided that the pregnancy had to continue, our values are these'.

'These children live inside me. I heard them beat on my heart. They grow and are healthy', she said. 'How can I decide the fate of two creatures so long-awaited?'

Under Italian law, the woman who gives birth is considered to be the child's legal mother. Hearing the case, Judge Silvia Albano said only the children can decide who they want their parents to be, reports The Local.

Michele Ambrosini, the birth couple's lawyer, told Il Fatto Quotidiano there could be contact between the couples at a later date when things 'had calmed down'. However, the biological parents have told La Stampa that their requests to meet the other couple had so far been met with no response. 'We feel ignored; nobody recognises our rights or sees our vital role in this affair', they said.

The couples were among four women receiving treatment at the Sandro Pertini hospital on the same day. La Repubblica reports the couples involved in the mix up share similar names.

The birth couple is now reportedly looking into suing the hospital involved.

Related Articles

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
11 November 2021 • 1 minute read

DNA test uncovers IVF sperm mix-up 11 years later

by Michaela Chen

A Utah couple is suing their IVF clinic after discovering that sperm from another patient was used to conceive their son...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
7 September 2015 • 1 minute read

Sperm mix-up case dismissed

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

A woman who sued a US sperm bank after she gave birth to a mixed-race child has had her claim rejected by an Illinois court, reports the Chicago Tribune...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
1 September 2014 • 2 minutes read

Swiss and Italian courts move towards parental rights for same-sex couples

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

Judges in two European countries with restrictive laws governing IVF and surrogacy have taken steps towards recognising non-biological parents in same-sex relationships as the legal parents of children born through assisted conception....

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
25 April 2014 • 3 minutes read

Investigation into fertility clinic worker who switched sperm 'inconclusive'

by Julianna Photopoulos

A University of Utah committee has concluded its investigation into allegations that in the early 1990s a fertility clinic worker allegedly switched a couple's sperm sample with his own....

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
6 December 2010 • 2 minutes read

Northern Ireland judge dismisses claim brought by children after IVF 'mix-up'

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

Northern Ireland's High Court of Justice has rejected a claim for damages brought by two children born as a result of IVF treatment provided to their mother which resulted in them being of different skin colour than intended...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
5 November 2010 • 1 minute read

Singapore fertility clinic faces sperm mix-up probe

by Nisha Satkunarajah

A private medical centre in Singapore is under investigation after a mix-up during IVF treatment resulted in the birth of a child conceived with the wrong sperm....

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
2 August 2009 • 2 minutes read

Wrong embryo implanted in woman at Cardiff fertility clinic

by Ailsa Stevens

An embryo belonging to a couple being treated at a Cardiff fertility clinic was accidentally implanted into the wrong woman and subsequently destroyed. The prospects of Deborah, who is 40, having another child with her partner Paul, 38, are slim and both are said to be devastated that their last hope of conceiving a sibling for their six-year-old son has been lost....

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Thailand moves to ban commercial surrogacy

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Common virus may be cause of recent hepatitis cases in children

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

CRISPR genome editing treatments may raise cancer risk

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Differences in IVF-conceived children's size disappear by adolescence

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856