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Fertility Clinic Ordered To Release Sperm Donor List After White Couple Have Asian Baby

Fertility Clinic Ordered To Release Sperm Donor List After White Couple Have Asian Baby

The couple have now divorced and filed lawsuits

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

A white couple in the US - who have now split up - have filed lawsuits after a fertility clinic mix-up resulted in the woman giving birth to an Asian baby.

Kristina Koedderich and her ex-husband Drew Wasilewski have both separately filed lawsuits at the Superior Court of New Jersey in Essex County, claiming they paid $500,000 (£405,637) to the Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Science at Saint Barnabas (IRMS) to have a child together.

A white couple has filed a lawsuit after a sperm mix up resulted in the woman giving birth to an Asian baby.
PA

However, after the pair provided their sperm and egg in November 2012 and had a daughter in July 2013, they began to notice that their child was developing Asian features as well as a blood disorder that is associated with Southeast Asian heritage, according to court documents.

Subsequent DNA tests revealed that Wasilewski wasn't the father - news which was said to have 'devastated' him. Unsurprisingly, neither of them could believe a mix-up like this had happened.

According to NJ.com, Koedderich said in her deposition: "He was crying. I was crying. And I called [IRMS] the next day and asked how - could this be possible? Could this really be possible?"

Last month, Superior Court Judge Keith Lynott in Essex County released an order demanding that IRMS released the names of the men and women who used the clinic at the same time as the couple, as well as those who worked there. More specifically, it requested details of who was supervising the lab technician who conducted the procedure and all the Asian men whose sperm was thawed during this time period.

The Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Science at Saint Barnabas has been ordered to release a list of its sperm donors.
Google Earth

They have also demanded that the clinic investigate all the possible women who may have wrongly ended up with Wasilewski's sperm.

According to the Daily Mail, Wasilewski said in his deposition: "I would very much like to be involved. I think, as children, you want to know who - who and where you came from. And - I believe I'm a very good person. And I'd like them to know who I am, as a person, learn about me as much as I learned about my mother and father."

The couple are seeking damages, claiming the mistake was the catalyst for their divorce, and Wasilewski's lawyer, David Mazie, said his client deserved to know what had happened with his sperm - just as the girl is entitled to know the genetics of her father.

He said: "What happened to the father's sperm that he doesn't know about? This little girl is entitled to know her genetic history. She's entitled to know if there were any medical disorders."

Ronn Torossian, a spokesperson for IRMS, told LADbible the allegations were being thoroughly examined.

He said: "We are an organisation comprised of passionate, dedicated medical professionals whose singular mission is to help our patients build their families.

"The integrity of our treatment processes are paramount and we are taking this matter very seriously. As such, we are thoroughly examining the alleged incident, which is said to have occurred in 2012.

"As patient privacy is core to what we do, we do not comment specifically on individual patient matters.

"The court order has broad implications potentially affecting many more people than the immediate parties involved."

IRMS also said the couple probably spent closer to $50,000 (£40,563), rather than the $500,000 they have claimed.

Featured Image Credit: Pixabay

Topics: US News, Weird