Fertility clinic mixed up embryos

[RunningFromInsanity]

Saw this article about a fertility clinic mixing up embryos and implanting them in the wrong women.

It was only discovered when the babies were 3months old, and the parents swapped babies back at that point.

Could you have given up the baby you grew, carried, loved and bonded for 3months, and swap it for another, even if that other baby was genetically yours?

Or do you keep the baby and know that he/she isn’t yours, and your baby was out there somewhere?

What a choice to have to make

news.sky.com/story/amp/two-california-couples-give-birth-to-each-others-babies-after-mix-up-at-fertility-clinic-12464274

There have been a number of cases similar to this over the years. The Drs who use their own sperm, the mix ups, children of the ‘wrong’ ethnicity. Obviously these things should not and should never have happened. However, there is always going to be that margin for human error.

That would be such an unbelievably hard decision. How utterly horrendous for those parents.

I don’t think it would happen in the UK. Our clinic was fanatical about identities and checking at each stage of the process, plus we have the HFEA to regulate them. We have a little credit card that is imprinted with (presumably) our embryos’ freezer container number/microscope slide.

@Spikeyball

"How do you know it'd be in their best interests? I find this a really interesting - but surprising - view."

Because it avoids adding some of the complications of what is in many respects an adoption into the childrens lives. It isn't the same as a donor situation as this situation was never intended and it is not about a non biological child being loved any less ( I know that from personal experience). If the children were any older I think it becomes far more complicated and I certainly don't think a 'swap' is right beyond babyhood.

I can see all of that, but I think it would still be traumatic for even a very young baby, and for the parents. If you adopt a child you are prepared for that, but not in this situation.

It's very complicated.

@Foolsrule

There have been a number of cases similar to this over the years. The Drs who use their own sperm, the mix ups, children of the ‘wrong’ ethnicity. Obviously these things should not and should never have happened. However, there is always going to be that margin for human error.

The procedures in the UK really don't leave room for human error. It would have to be deliberate. Obviously you can't regulate against a rogue person but the mix up potential is all eliminated by the protocols.

This type of event is rare. I don't think it is one to get too concerned about when having ivf. Babies getting mixed up at birth also happens but that is also rare.

@Mseddy I think someone is cutting onions! What a lovely post.

So hard for all involved.

"I can see all of that, but I think it would still be traumatic for even a very young baby, and for the parents"

I agree the situation is very distressing for everyone involved.

Awful but to those thinking of IVF the process is very much regulated in UK this story is from the USA. USA isn’t regulated from what I understand.

I love this story of babies swapped at birth (not IVF)

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/babies-switched-at-birth-become-an-unlikely-sister-act-gnr7k6stj

The families discovered the swap when the girls were 3 and decided to swap back but raise the girls together, even all living together in one household at one point, so each girl effectively had four parents. A great example of something wonderful coming from a terrible situation.

Jeez this should only happen on private practice.
My patients used to laugh when I'd prep them for surgery and draw massive black arrows on them but surgeons have got it wrong before and the last thing I'd need on my conscience is for the wrong eye to be removed or something.

There was a recent case where a woman gave birth to two babies from 2 different couples due to an ivf mix up. They won the right to get their babies back and she was left with no babies.
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/1694269001

@SarahAndQuack "How do you know it'd be in their best interests?"

I read this story this morning and the thing that struck me as particularly "unfortunate", as it were - but also perhaps fortunate in that it made the mistake obvious - is that the baby and parents were of different races. They weren't too clear on the exact difference, but clear enough that the father knew immediately upon delivery. Mottled skin and birth-gunk aside, he saw at first glance that the baby was a different race.

It shouldn't make a difference to the question, but it does, I think. There would be no disguising it, as soon as the child became self aware, they would know they aren't biologically related. And that is something the parents on both sides would have to consider.

Yes it sounds like if the skin tone hadn’t been so dramatically noticeable, this may have not been discovered anytime soon.

@vincaminor That New York case is heartbreaking. Horrible for the two couple who suddenly discovered they had a baby born to someone else, but unthinkably dreadful for the poor woman who carried twins only to discover they weren't hers and couldn't keep them .

Genetics is a condition

The child might feel robbed of the chance to grow up with their bio family though, particularly if there are other siblings. Especially if it was known fairly early on.

There was a story in the Guardian a while ago about a London clinic using sperm for fertility treatment, taken from samples that were never intended to be used. It happened 40 years ago and I'm sure procedures are extremely tight now, but I certainly wouldn't feel complacent about it and assume these mix ups can only happen because it's in the US.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/sep/25/the-great-sperm-heist-they-were-playing-with-peoples-lives

But the point is the whole set up is really tightly regulated in the UK now, it is such an unlikely event in the UK in the 21st century - mix ups can't just happen because there are protocols at every step of every stage to eliminate any possibility of human error. It's really important that people aren't scared of this kind of thing happening to them when IVF is already stressful and frightening and for many couples very much the last chance.

@Runningupthecurtains

But the point is the whole set up is really tightly regulated in the UK now, it is such an unlikely event in the UK in the 21st century - mix ups can't just happen because there are protocols at every step of every stage to eliminate any possibility of human error. It's really important that people aren't scared of this kind of thing happening to them when IVF is already stressful and frightening and for many couples very much the last chance.

Totally agree.

I remember having nightmares when I finally had a successful round that I would get a call from the clinic to say there had been a mistake and that after 8 years of trying to be pregnant I was but with someone elses embryo. And I would have to give birth and hand the baby straight over to the actual genetic parents. Or that when I gave birth the child would be obviously not ours for some reason. I knew it was nonsense and that of course DS was ours (and from the moment he arrived I was more concerned that he might be a dodgy illegal clone of DH as they are so alike in every way than someone elses) but infertility is such a rough path to travel that I really don't want anyone to have doubt of fear planted in their mind from 40 years ago when IVF was a brand new technique or from a different country with totally different regulation.

Watched this the other day. What an awful situation.

The other problem in this scenario is the epi-genetics aspect to different woman, being pregnant with another couples embryo. This will impact on how the embryos develop and my understanding is some DNA will “rub off” on the foetus from the woman who is pregnant with them. It’s obviously more technical than this -it’s my crude understanding of it!

I read about a case like this in the US, the book is called Inconceivable.

There was a mix up and one pregnancy took and the other didn't. The mix up was discovered by the clinic almost immediately, as soon as she got the positive test they told her. The clinic wanted her to abort but she didn't want to for religious reasons. She agreed to go ahead with the pregnancy and give the baby up at the end, sort of like an unintentional surrogate.

It was a difficult pregnancy health wise and she couldn't have another baby, she later sued the clinic and won, she was awarded for them to pay for ivf and a surrogate for her.