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Original poster

DNA test after IVF treatment

31 replies

K2012 · 31/03/2022 10:13

Hi ladies

I know it might sound a bit weird, but sometimes I get a bit paranoid that what if the IVF clinic mixed up my egg or husband’s sperm with someone else’s and I’m considering having a DNA test done after baby is born.

Has anyone had the same thoughts/had dna test done on baby?

OP posts:
Ozanj · 31/03/2022 10:22

Our IVF consultant suggested it after DH asked about their process to deal with mistakes like this. I laughed in his face and said as far as I’m concerned, any baby I carry and give birth to is mine and I wouldn’t be giving it up for anyone. UK law is with me too - which confers the title of mother to the woman who gave birth not the person who provided genetic material.

So I would ask why you want the genetic testing. If your need for a genetic child is so great you would be willing to give up a baby you gave birth to, fair enough.

Carebear99 · 31/03/2022 10:23

Hmm not sure I agree with the poster above. I'm sure the OP wants a child that is biologically there own. I don't think it's unreasonable to get a dna test just to be sure

MyAnacondaMight · 31/03/2022 10:33

Did you have IVF treatment due to difficulty conceiving? If so I imagine it may feel somewhat impossible that you’re pregnant. But that’s the trauma of infertility causing you to disbelieve that this is really happening for you - the likelihood of the clinic having mixed up their Petri dishes is very remote.

newbiename · 31/03/2022 10:57

@Ozanj

Our IVF consultant suggested it after DH asked about their process to deal with mistakes like this. I laughed in his face and said as far as I’m concerned, any baby I carry and give birth to is mine and I wouldn’t be giving it up for anyone. UK law is with me too - which confers the title of mother to the woman who gave birth not the person who provided genetic material.

So I would ask why you want the genetic testing. If your need for a genetic child is so great you would be willing to give up a baby you gave birth to, fair enough.

You wouldn't want to know if a baby you carried and gave birth to might not be genetically yours or your husband's?
Cakecakecheese · 31/03/2022 11:14

They have very very strict procedures to stop that happening. That episode of Friends is funnily enough not accurate at all, they don't use petri dishes left out on the side!

It's very very unlikely that there will have been a mix up, I've only heard of one case and that was in Russia I think, but if a DNA test will give you piece of mind then have it done.

Carebear99 · 31/03/2022 11:27

Totally agree with you. I think that post saying they wouldn't want to know is ridiculous

Ozanj · 31/03/2022 11:46

This needs to go on the infertility thread. The people here probably may have no idea how hard it is to conceive through ivf let alone have a live baby.

CurbsideProphet · 31/03/2022 12:25

I'm in my first trimester through IVF and feel 100% confident this is our baby. Our clinic explained that every time my eggs were removed / embryo transferred a "credit card" with our details on fits in a slot on the wall and "locks" the other embryoscopes that are not linked to our names / dates of birth. They would not be able to put the wrong sperm and eggs together, or transfer the wrong embryo. They went through this every single time (2 egg retrievals / 3 embryo transfers).

IVF pregnancy is such an anxious time. Although tv programmes / books make light of this possibility, in the UK there are unbelievably strict protocols. I hope you find a way to manage your anxiety. Is counselling a possibility for you?

I've not found the midwives overly helpful with my anxiety yet. I've decided to carry on having sessions with our IVF counsellor, as she understands my worries.

Aw273 · 31/03/2022 13:04

Depending on you and your partner’s blood types, as long as the baby’s matches that might give you the reassurance you need? Would need to do a bit of research to make sure you get it right though, and even better if you know what your parents blood types are. I found it useful with my IVF baby just to put that tiny doubt to rest, but then I did do a genetics module at uni.

User34352515 · 31/03/2022 13:08

Babies/toddlers have incredible resemblance to both parents during the first 3 years. Anecdotally more similar to the father in the first year so he "knows" it's his, and a mixture of both later on. There are also ridiculous things like toe shape that make the genetic connection unmistakable. So a DNA test would probably only be reasonable in the extremely rare & unlikely case where the child doesn't display any resemblance to one or both parents.

Babadook76 · 31/03/2022 13:12

@Carebear99

Totally agree with you. I think that post saying they wouldn't want to know is ridiculous
I disagree. I’d consider that baby to be mine either way. Even if I was told that there was an actual possibility there’d been a mix up, I’d rather not know than risk finding out it definitely wasn’t mine
Chloemol · 31/03/2022 13:14

@K2012

Hi ladies

I know it might sound a bit weird, but sometimes I get a bit paranoid that what if the IVF clinic mixed up my egg or husband’s sperm with someone else’s and I’m considering having a DNA test done after baby is born.

Has anyone had the same thoughts/had dna test done on baby?

What are you going to do if they do make a ‘mistake’ bandit back?

If you are having ivf you want a child,

Chloemol · 31/03/2022 13:15

Hand it

MuchTooTired · 31/03/2022 13:20

I’ve had exactly the same thoughts/worries about my DTs when I was pregnant with them. Ultimately, I never tested because they’re the spitting image of DH and me, their personalities are us, and ultimately they are my children and I couldn’t give them up. I just couldn’t. It’s still a niggly thought on occasion, but it’s not a real one for me that is ever action.

Sewannoying · 31/03/2022 13:40

I’ve done IVF and I’m in complete agreement with Ozanj. DD is mine and any DNA test would be irrelevant.

Springhassprunggrasshasrizz · 31/03/2022 13:58

I had the same thoughts when expecting my eldest DC. All 3 were ivf babies and all arrived looking exactly like DH so we never felt the need to clarify. Although I do know that my eldest (the double of his dad) donated his blood when he got to 18 so he could find out his blood group and check!

Longbin · 31/03/2022 14:01

I have done IVF too. If DD wasn’t mine I’d strongly not want to know as I couldn’t live with the fear she would be taken from me! I find it strange that someone would want to test to be honest

lighterskies · 31/03/2022 14:06

I also had ivf for my two and wouldn't dream of doing an dna test, they are my dc.
I would never have considered giving them up.

QuiltedHippo · 31/03/2022 14:11

It crossed my mind sometimes but she looks just like us both, even if it had happened and I found out now there's no way I'd be without her.

Has your clinic explained how they prevent this happening? We had our photos on all files for appointments, reference numbers constantly read out during transfers etc. Our clinic (UK) did have a high profile mix up a while back where the baby was a difference race to the parents and things were tightened up massively since.

Fossilsmorefossils · 31/03/2022 14:14

We considered it but one look at DD was enough. She really looks like both of us.

AlternativePerspective · 31/03/2022 14:16

Totally agree with you. I think that post saying they wouldn't want to know is ridiculous why? If you carried and gave birth to a baby that baby is yours. What difference would it make if it turned out the baby wasn’t genetically yours? Would you just give it back?

Imagine a scenario where you have a baby through IVF and it then turns out the baby isn’t yours genetically, but the person whose baby it is miscarried your baby early into the pregnancy, would you be content to hand them the baby you had carried and given birth to and to walk away because it wasn’t genetically yours?

Frankly I think the idea of having DNA tests is totally bizarre.

TheQueensCousin · 31/03/2022 14:24

@QuiltedHippo

It crossed my mind sometimes but she looks just like us both, even if it had happened and I found out now there's no way I'd be without her.

Has your clinic explained how they prevent this happening? We had our photos on all files for appointments, reference numbers constantly read out during transfers etc. Our clinic (UK) did have a high profile mix up a while back where the baby was a difference race to the parents and things were tightened up massively since.

We obviously used the same clinic and the mix up was around the time of my IVF cycles. I often wonder but would never do a DNA test.
Zilla1 · 31/03/2022 14:33

You might want to be clear about your reasons why and what actions you'll take after the various scenarios before deciding to do this as it might not make you happy. Sometime a little uncertainty is better than certainty for some people.

AlternativePerspective · 31/03/2022 15:25

You might want to be clear about your reasons why and what actions you'll take after the various scenarios before deciding to do this as it might not make you happy. Sometime a little uncertainty is better than certainty for some people. not only that, but you would need to consider the fact that the baby could be taken from you and given to the biological parents if they chose to pursue you.

Presumably if the clinic had made a mix-up they would be obliged to tell the other parents about it as well, so even if after finding out you weren’t the biological parents that was still your baby, the biological parents could very well demand their baby back, especially if, as in my above scenario, they had miscarried their pregnancy thus meaning that you wouldn’t have a child at all.

CurbsideProphet · 31/03/2022 15:49

Please could everyone stop feeding into the idea that an IVF clinic could mix up eggs and sperm. This cannot happen in the UK due to very strict protocols. IVF pregnancy is an exceptionally stressful time. It is better to talk through the anxiety with a professional than to read posts pontificating on various outcomes for something that cannot happen.