California Mothers Birth Each Other’s Babies After IVF Clinic Mixes Up Embryos, Lawsuit Filed

On Monday, a California couple filed a lawsuit against the fertility clinic that implanted the wrong embryos into two women. The mishap resulted in the women giving birth to babies that didn’t belong to them and then swapping them months later.

Alexander and Daphna Cardinale are suing the California Center for Reproductive Health and Dr. Eliran Mor for breach of contract, negligence, medical malpractice, and more. The suit asks for a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages. They hope the lawsuit will “shine a spotlight on this issue.”

The Cardinale’s turned to the clinic for help after spending years trying for a second child. But as excited as they were about the birth of their new baby girl, Alexander immediately noticed something was off. The baby came out with darker skin and hair.

When the baby was two months old, Daphna ordered a DNA test to ease Alexander’s fears. Instead, they got the shock of a lifetime — the baby wasn’t there’s. It turned out the clinic mixed up their embryo with another family’s embryo. 

“I was robbed of the ability to carry my own child,” Daphna said in a news conference. “I never had the opportunity to grow and bond with her during pregnancy, to feel her kick, or to watch her in ultrasounds.”

The two couples met in person and eventually swapped the children, deciding they should be with their biological parents. The incident took a toll on the families, who were happy to bring home their biological children, but mourning the loss of the child they had bonded with. 

“So there’s grief, and so then your heart starts breaking for their family at the same time,” Daphna told TODAY. “Because at the same time, everyone’s gaining a child, but everyone’s losing a child.”