A couple have been reunited with their biological daughter following an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) mix-up, which meant the mother was pregnant with another couple's baby. Watch here:
Daphna and Alexander Cardinale, from Los Angeles, USA, spent months raising a child that was not theirs following a mix-up at a fertility clinic, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday (8 November).
Advert
The couple had immediate suspicions that the girl Daphna gave birth to in September 2019 was not theirs because the child had a darker complexion than they do.
They suppressed their doubts though, as they fell in love with the baby and trusted doctors and the IVF process.
But after taking a genetic test their worst fears were confirmed, with the baby not related to either parent. It turned out Daphna had been pregnant with another couple's baby, and that another woman had been carrying their child.
"I was overwhelmed by feelings of fear, betrayal, anger and heartbreak," Daphna said during a news conference with her husband announcing the lawsuit.
Advert
"I was robbed of the ability to carry my own child. I never had the opportunity to grow and bond with her during pregnancy, to feel her kick."
The Cardinales' complaint accuses the Los Angeles-based California Centre for Reproductive Health (CCRH) and its owner Dr Eliran Mor of medical malpractice, breach of contract, negligence and fraud. It demands a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages.
LADbible has contacted the CCRH and Dr Mor for comment.
Advert
The two other parents involved in the alleged mix-up wish to remain anonymous and plan a similar lawsuit in the coming days, according to lawyer Adam Wolf, who represents all four parents.
The lawsuit claims CCRH mistakenly implanted the other couple's embryo into Daphna and transferred the Cardinales' embryo - made from Daphna's egg and Alexander's sperm - into the other woman.
The babies, both girls, were born a week apart in September 2019.
"The Cardinales, including their young daughter, fell in love with this child, and were terrified she would be taken away from them," the complaint reads.
Advert
"All the while, Alexander and Daphna did not know the whereabouts of their own embryo, and thus were terrified that another woman had been pregnant with their child - and their child was out in the world somewhere without them."
The babies were swapped back to their biological families in January 2020.
Wolf, whose firm specialises in fertility cases, called for greater oversight for IVF clinics.
"This case highlights an industry in desperate need of federal regulation," he said.
Advert
Daphna said breaking the news about the mix-up to their older daughter, now seven, was 'the hardest thing in my life'.
"My heart breaks for her, perhaps the most," she said.
She added that all four parents have since made an effort to stay in each other's lives and 'forge a larger family'.
Alexander said: "They were just as much in love with our biological daughter as we were with theirs."
Featured Image Credit: Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane & Conway