Monash IVF sued over IVF mix-up

A couple has sued Australian fertility company Monash IVF after their donated embryos were not used as agreed.

The couple, from Western Australia, donated embryos left over from their own IVF treatment to a Brisbane couple, only to find out there had been a mix-up and that the child the recipient subsequently gave birth to was not genetically related to them. They have filed a lawsuit against Monash IVF in the Supreme Court of Victoria, claiming that the error has caused them significant psychiatric harm in the form of chronic adjustment disorder, depression and anxiety.

'[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 when the mix-up came to light in 2025.

The couple's choice to donate four embryos was made after a careful search and joint counselling with the recipients, organised by Monash IVF. In court filings, the donor couple claims they believed the recipients' child to be the result of their donation until the birth parents told them about the mix-up. The recipients only discovered the error when they asked for the remaining embryos to be transferred to another clinic, and found there was one more than expected (see BioNews 1285).

The donor couple claims negligence on behalf of the fertility company, which handles around a quarter of IVF cycles in Australia. They are seeking damages and legal costs from the company.

The error was one of two incidents where patients had the wrong embryos transferred by Monash clinics (see BioNews 1293). An independent review of these incidents by lawyer Fiona McLeod found that human error was to blame. Despite pressure from Australian health minister Mark Butler, the company did not publish the details of the review (see BioNews 1303).

Monash IVF agreed to pay undisclosed sums in compensation to the affected families (see BioNews 1330), but the donor family was not included in the settlement.

Questioned about the new filing by ABC News, a Monash IVF spokesperson said the company would not comment before the court case.

At the time of the settlements, acting CEO Malik Jainudeen said the company was 'deeply sorry for the distress these incidents have caused.'