In-Vitro Fertilisation: U.S. couple sue fertility clinic for using embryo on wrong woman

A U.S. couple is suing a fertility company for allegedly implanting their embryo into another woman without their consent.

The woman who was implanted with the wrong embryo gave birth to twins in March.

BBC reported that a DNA test had allegedly showed that the babies were not related to her or even to each other.

The couple, Anni and Ashot Manukyan, who originally had one of the embryos, have now taken custody of one of the children. Also, the second baby belonging to an unnamed couple has been given to them.

The second baby boy allegedly comes from egg and sperm of a third, unrelated couple.

Both the Manukyans in California and the unmanned couple in the New York who gave birth to the babies are suing CHA Fertility Center

However, the company is yet to comment on the lawsuits.

Mrs Manukyan addressing a press conference said CHA robbed her of the ability to carry her own baby.

“My baby boy, who wants to meet their child in a lobby of a hotel?” she said.

The court filing reportedly said the birth couple ceded custody of the child and that the clinic has made contact with his biological parents –although they have not come forward publicly.

The New York couple – identified as AP and YZ in the lawsuit to protect them from embarrassment and humiliation – gave birth to two boys who were not of Asian descents as they are.

They had earlier during the course of pregnancy suspected something was wrong as scans showed they were giving birth to boys, despite doctors saying they had used female embryos.

The Manukyan had unsuccessfully gone through IVF in August 2018 using an embryo they thought was theirs.

The pair said they were asked to take a DNA test after the birth of the twin in March.

Their lawsuit says the couple then discovered “much to their horror” that their son had been “implanted into a stranger that later became his birth mother”.

The couple then had to fight in the courts to reclaim their child, after the birth couple gave him up.

“What about the woman, you know? What is she going through right now?” MsManukyan told broadcaster CBS News. “Thank God we got our child back but she ended up with nothing.”

The California lawsuit alleges negligence and emotional distress, as well as claiming CHA Fertility broke a state law preventing the use of embryos for any purpose other than that consented to by the provider.

Conviction on that charge could reportedly carry a prison sentence of between three and five years.