Following the confirmation of a mixed-up embryo birthed by a woman in Australia at the Monash IVF clinic in Brisbane, it is said that legal action could follow over parental birth rights, sparking controversy.
Monash IVF, a fertility clinic in Australia that primarily deals with embryo implantation from donors to intended parents, blamed the incident on human error.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a fertility process in which eggs and sperm are combined outside the body in a laboratory, and the fertilized embryo is implanted into the woman’s uterus.
Although the cost is exorbitantly high, IVF is not always successful.
Of the 111,253 ART treatment cycles conducted in 2021, over 20,690 babies were born through IVF in Australia and New Zealand.
Explaining that humans make mistakes, Family Creation Lawyer Sarah Jefford said, “There are presumptions in Australia about the birth parents being the legal parents of the child, but whether the genetic parents want to come forward and start a discussion about that, then we’ll have to wait and see.”
Professor Gab Kovacs, an IVF pioneer and former director of Monash IVF, while speaking to ABC Radio Melbourne, described the situation as “sad and terrible.”
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“I’ve got no idea what the legal situation in Australia would decide, I don’t think it’s been tested before.
I don’t think there’s much more that can be done, we just have to accept that human beings make mistakes.”
As of last year, Monash IVF agreed to pay a $56 million settlement to more than 700 patients across the country.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Monash IVF, Michael Knaap, confirmed that a woman in Australia accidentally gave birth to another couple’s child after an embryo mix-up.
Knaap, who apologized on behalf of Monash IVF, shared that the mistake has left everyone in devastating shock, stating that an investigation is ongoing.
The mistake was discovered in February after the parents requested to transfer frozen embryos to another provider, but reports revealed that the implantation occurred in 2023.
