Brisbane woman gives birth to stranger’s baby after IVF mix-up

A Brisbane IVF clinic has apologised after a “human error” saw an embryo placed in the wrong woman, resulting in a healthy baby.

A Brisbane woman has recently discovered that she gave birth to a stranger’s baby after a leading fertility clinic mixed-up her embryos.

Monash IVF has apologised after the woman was unknowingly given another patient’s embryo following treatment at one of its 23 clinics, citing “human error” for the unthinkable blunder.

The medical facility reportedly became aware of the mix-up in February after the birth parents asked to transfer their remaining frozen embryos to another provider, ABC reports.

“Instead of finding the expected number of embryos, an additional embryo remained in storage for the birth parents,” a Monash IVF spokesperson told the publication.

“(An) investigation confirmed that an embryo from a different patient had previously been incorrectly thawed and transferred to the birth parents, which resulted in the birth of a child.”

An Australian IVF clinic has apologised after a Brisbane woman gave birth to stranger’s baby as a result of an embryo mix-up. Picture: iStock

The woman unknowingly carried, and later gave birth, to an embryo that wasn’t hers after a ‘human error’ at Monash IVF. Picture: iStock

Chief executive Michael Knaap said everyone at the fertility clinic was “devastated” at the mistake, which came to light just six months after Monash IVF agreed to pay a $56 million class action settlement to hundreds of patients whose embryos were wrongly destroyed.

“On behalf of Monash IVF, I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened,” he said,” Mr Knaap said.

“Since becoming aware of this incident, we have undertaken additional audits and we’re confident that this is an isolated incident.”

The fertility clinic has also commissioned an independent investigation into the incident, the BBC reported.

The fertility company’s CEO said ‘I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened’. Picture: iStock

It came to light just six months after Monash agreed to pay a $56 million in a class action settlement to hundreds of patients whose embryos were wrongly destroyed. Picture: iStock

Last August, Monash IVF reached a settlement in a landmark class action with 700 former patients for destroying embryos after inaccurate genetic testing.

The case found that about 35 per cent of the embryos, which were actually normal and could have resulted in a viable pregnancy, were found to be abnormal by the faulty screening.

Despite the huge payout, Monash IVF made no admission of liability.

New data recently revealed that around one in 18 babies born in Australia are conceived using fertility treatments.

IVF, which stands for in vitro fertilisation, involves the removal of eggs from a woman’s ovaries, following an extensive retrieval process.

The eggs are then fertilised with sperm in a laboratory, and are transferred into the woman’s uterus once the fertilised eggs become embryos.

It can be an expensive process, costing between $11,795 and $12,989 on average, with an estimated out-of-pocket cost of $5274 to $6692 after Medicare rebates.

Originally published as Brisbane woman gives birth to stranger’s baby after IVF mix-up