In vitro fertilization mix-up leaves mother with wrong baby, clinic blames 'human error'

A fertility clinic in Australia has certified a critical error in which one woman gave birth to another couple s child after an embryo transfer went wrong The episode occurred at Monash IVF s Brisbane clinic and is being described as the development of human error despite what the company says are strict protocols in place Monash IVF revealed that the mistake was identified in February after the birth parents requested their remaining embryos be transferred to another clinic During that process an extra embryo was identified in storage sparking an internal analysis It was then validated that an embryo belonging to a different couple had been incorrectly thawed and transferred ultimately resulting in the birth of a child GEORGIA WOMAN SAYS SHE'LL 'NEVER FULLY RECOVER' AFTER IVF MIX-UP LEADS TO HER LOSING CUSTODY OF BABY Monash IVF can confirm that an situation has occurred at our Brisbane clinic where the embryo of one sufferer was incorrectly transferred to another sufferer resulting in the birth of a child Monash IVF explained in a message to Fox News Digital Our focus is on supporting our patients through this extremely distressing time We are devastated about what has happened and apologize to everyone involved We are truly sorry The clinic stressed that it is prioritizing the privacy of the families involved including the child and established that the information being shared publicly has been de-identified with their knowledge VERMONT ACCUSED IN LAWSUIT OF TRACKING PREGNANT WOMEN CONSIDERED UNSUITABLE TO BE MOTHERSAccording to the clinic the situation was escalated to senior leadership within hours prompting an immediate inspection The review substantiated that an embryo from a different subject had previously been incorrectly thawed and transferred to the birth parents which resulted in the birth of a child according to the declaration The examination also uncovered that despite strict laboratory safety protocols being in place including multi-step identification processes being conducted a human error was made Monash IVF announced its Problem Management Crew was activated as soon as the issue was identified Within a week the Health Director of the Brisbane clinic began meeting with the affected patients to offer apologies and endorsement The company explained it conducts regular compliance audits and is now undertaking full process reviews while reinforcing safeguards across all of its clinics On behalf of Monash IVF I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened All of us at Monash IVF are devastated and we apologize to everyone involved We will continue to advocacy the patients through this extremely distressing time Monash IVF Group CEO Michael Knaap commented Since becoming aware of this matter we have undertaken additional audits and we're confident that this is an isolated event We are reinforcing all our safeguards across our clinics we also commissioned an independent examination and are committed to implementing its recommendations in full Monash IVF has not distributed further information about how the child was returned to the biological parents or the current legal status of the incident The incident echoes a similar development in the U S involving a Georgia woman In Krystena Murray underwent IVF healing at Coastal Fertility Specialists and gave birth to a baby who was not biologically hers A DNA test ratified the error and after a custody battle Murray was compelled to give the child a boy to his biological parents Murray has since filed a lawsuit against the clinic citing emotional distress and negligence It is unclear if the families involved will be compensated for the Monash IVF Group's error