IVF regulation is in the spotlight after a mix-up that led to a woman giving birth to a baby not related to her, with little chance the genetic parents can claim custody.
Leading fertility clinic Monash IVF revealed a woman at a Brisbane facility had another patient’s embryo incorrectly transferred to her due to “human error.”
The mistake was picked up in February after the birth parents asked for their remaining embryos to be transferred elsewhere and an extra embryo was found in storage.
Monash IVF, which is based in Melbourne and has clinics around Australia, has apologised and expressed confidence it was an isolated incident.
No details have been made public about the families involved or the age of the child.
There is an “irrebuttable presumption” the birth mother and her partner are considered to be the parents under current law, according to Melbourne Law School health and medical studies co-director Ian Freckelton KC.
He said the law was clear to stop donor fathers in other cases seeking parental rights down the track.
Freckelton said the genetic parents could still try to gain custody and all parents involved may be entitled to compensation.
“Something has gone seriously wrong, so that suggests a protocol that’s inadequate or a failure to adhere to the protocol,” he told AAP.
A spokesperson for the Victorian government said as the mix up happened in Queensland they expected a local regulator would investigate.
However, Queensland Health said the mistake happened before September 2024, when stricter IVF laws came into force, granting it authority to regulate and take action over any breaches.
“We will work with Monash IVF to reinforce safeguards in their Queensland clinics and ensure any risks are identified and mitigated,” the department said.
IVF regulation is a state issue however the incident prompted scrutiny at a national level, with federal Health Minister Mark Butler vowing it would be discussed at the next health minister meeting if the government is re-elected.
The mix-up will be deeply upsetting for other families going through IVF, Samantha Payne from the Pink Elephants Support Network said.
“There will be people who will be deeply triggered by this and they'll want some reassurance around their own experiences of fertility, around the children that they may or may not have had through IVF,” Payne told AAP.
About one in 18 babies are born through IVF in Australia, where there are no other known instances of a similar embryo mix-up happening.
However, cases have been documented overseas.
In February, United States woman Krystena Murray launched action against her fertility clinic in Georgia after giving birth to a boy who was not genetically hers.
She reportedly wanted to keep the child but gave him up after his biological parents sued for custody.
Empirical bioethicist Hilary Bowman-Smart said it was important to consider the child’s best interests, including their right to know about what happened, in the future.
“From an ethics perspective, I don’t think we can say it’s a stranger’s baby,” Bowman-Smart said.
The birth mother was pregnant for nine months, gave birth, and raised the baby along with her partner for several months, the bioethicist explained.
“In a meaningful way, that is their baby. The problem is that, in a meaningful way, it’s also these other people’s baby,” the University of South Australia researcher said.
Monash IVF chief executive Michael Knaap said the company would continue to support the patients and has committed to implementing any recommendations from an independent investigation.
