'We got DNA tests for our sons - the results were catastrophic'

Anastasia and Lexie Gunn will always love their children no matter what, but they can’t help wondering why their conception at one of Australia’s biggest fertility clinics went horribly wrong.

Anastasia and Lexie Gunn will always love their children no matter what, but they can’t help wondering why their conception at one of Australia’s biggest fertility clinics went wrong.

The ABCreports the couple conceived their three sons through donor sperm at the Queensland Fertility Group between 2006 and 2014.

They paid for the same donor to be used for each child, but later DNA testing showed their oldest son was not biologically related to their two younger sons.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. 

“We had IVF and got the wrong sperm,” Lexie said.

“It shattered what we all believe to be true.”

“It’s a catastrophic error,” Anastasia said. “How could they have used the wrong sperm to make children?”

RELATED: IVF totally ruined my life - I lost my house and it left me completely broken

Anastasia and Lexie Gunn. Picture: ABC

"We wanted them all to have the same biological father"

The ABC reports Anastasia took great care when she was selecting a sperm donor back in 2006.

“I went to QFG, and they had a big book with the donor profiles,” she said.

“There’s an age bracket for the donor, their educational background, and their health history as well.

“Medical background was definitely of concern to me.”

She settled on a fit, healthy caucasian male aged between 25 and 30.

Four years later, the couple decided to have more children, and they requested the same sperm donor.

“We wanted them all to have the same biological father to tie them together,” Anastasia told The ABC.

“That way when they have children, their children are all tied together with biological history.”

RELATED: 'I'm having a third baby, but it won't be my husband's'

The couple found out their two youngest sons had a different biological father to their oldest. Picture: ABC

"They have offered no rationale"

They had two more sons born two years apart, but both had serious health issues from birth.

“Our middle child is diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and our youngest son has joint hypermobility syndrome,” Anastasia said.

“He also has a diagnosis on the autism spectrum and ADHD.”

Anastasia and Lexie decided they wanted to find out if other children of their sperm donor had similar problems, so they sent their sons’ DNA off to an ancestry website to connect with other families.

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

However, the results floored them.

“I was completely perplexed,” Anastasia told The ABC. “I could see there was no match between our eldest boy and our younger two.”

The ABC reports QFG doubted the reliability of the DNA results from the ancestry site, but subsequent testing at an accredited DNA lab returned the same results.

“QFG have not provided any response to that legal DNA testing whatsoever,” Anastasia said.

“They have offered no rationale.”

QFG has maintained that its records show the same sperm donor was used for all three of Anastasia and Lexie’s children.

RELATED: 'A stranger paid for our IVF baby ... he's a miracle'

Anastasia and Lexie's three boys. Picture: ABC

"Why can the accrediting body not intervene?"

The ABC reports the couple are now suing QFG as the fertility clinic refuses to concede it used the wrong sperm for two of their children.

QFG said it was unable to make public comments about the legal claim while it was before the courts.

“We are keen to work with them to find a mutually acceptable resolution,” a QFG spokesperson told The ABC.

Anastasia has made multiple complaints about QFG’s conduct to the national regulator RTAC, but they won’t investigate “historical” matters because they predate its current code of practice.

“Why can the accrediting body not intervene?” Anastasia asked.

“RTAC just keep coming back and saying, ‘well, there’s nothing we can do’.”

Originally published as 'We got DNA tests for our sons - the results were catastrophic'