A New York couple has filed a lawsuit against a fertility clinic, claiming to have been impregnated with the wrong babies.
The unidentified couple paid more than $100,000 CHA Fertility Clinic for two female twins, but instead, they gave birth to two male babies. After the clinic performed the in vitro fertilization, the couple alleged that the clinic knew about the embryo mix-up but concealed the mistake. It wasn’t until March that the couple, who is of Asian descent, was “shocked” to find neither baby was of Asian descent at birth.
CBS reports the lawsuit claimed genetic testing confirmed the babies belonged to another couple, which forced them to give the children to their rightful parents. The couple was left without answers to where their two embryos – which should have been implanted – were. The lawsuit named co-owners of CHA Fertility Center, Dr. Joshua Berger, and Simon Hong, as responsible for the “unimaginable mishap.” However, mistakes like this are not uncommon at IVF facilities, according to expert Jake Anderson.
“It’s this agonizing process to grow embryos. And it involves almost over 200 different steps and when you assume this happens to thousands of patients every year within that laboratory, all of a sudden you’ve got a lot of moving parts,” Anderson said. The couple accused the fertility clinic of medical malpractice, negligence, and 14 other counts. The lawsuit also said the couple suffered significant emotional distress.
A lawyer for the CHA Fertility clinic declined to comment. In a statement to CBS News, a lawyer representing the unidentified couple said they “sustained traumatic emotional injuries and financial losses” and that they are filing the lawsuit both for compensation and “to ensure that this tragedy never happens again.”
