A woman in Australia has experienced an unfathomable situation after inadvertently giving birth to another woman’s child due to a shocking mix-up at a fertility clinic. Monash IVF in Brisbane, Queensland, is at the center of this incident, which has been attributed to human error, as reported by Australian media.
CEO Michael Knaap extended an apology, emphasizing the clinic's devastation over the mistake. The incident comes on the heels of the clinic's previous settlement of A$56 million (£26.8 million) to hundreds of patients whose viable embryos were erroneously destroyed.
The situation unfolded in February when the birth parents requested to transfer their remaining frozen embryos to a different clinic. To their surprise, an unexpected embryo was found in storage. Monash IVF confirmed that an embryo from another patient had been incorrectly thawed and implanted into the wrong individual, resulting in the unexpected birth.
An investigation has been launched, and the case is being referred to regulatory bodies. Knaap expressed confidence that this was an isolated error. The IVF process involves removing a woman’s eggs, fertilizing them with sperm in a lab, and transferring viable embryos back into the woman's uterus.
In 2021, there were approximately 20,690 babies born via IVF in Australia and New Zealand, highlighting the reliance on this expensive yet necessary process for many families.
