Wrong sperm may have fertilised eggs of 26 women in IVF mix-up
A DUTCH IVF lab has launched an investigation after discovering that up to 26 women may have been fertilised by sperm cells from the wrong man.
The University Medical Centre (UMC) in Utrecht, Netherlands said a "procedural error" between mid-April 2015 and mid-November 2016 was to blame.
Half the women who underwent fertility treatment have become pregnant or already had their babies.
The couples have been informed and the UMC said it "will do everything within its powers to give clarity on the issue as soon as possible".
In a statement, the centre explained: "During fertilisation, sperm cells from one treatment couple may have ended up with the egg cells of 26 other couples.
"Therefore there's a chance that the egg cells have been fertilised by sperm other than that of the intended father."
Although the chance of that happening was small, the possibility "could not be excluded", the centre added.
"For some of the 26 couples, frozen embryos are still available but the chance remains that they (too) have been fertilised by the sperm from a man other than the intended father," the UMC said.
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In 2012, a mother sued a clinic in Singapore after it mixed up her husband's sperm with that of a stranger.
The woman, who was ethnically Chinese, first suspected something was wrong when her baby, who was born in 2010, had a different skin tone and hair colour from her Caucasian husband, news reports at the time said.
Earlier this month, scientists approved the use of “three-parent baby” fertility treatments in the UK and it could be introduced in just a few months.
The pioneering medical technique is said to reduce the risk of a child inheriting devastating diseases but some deem it controversial as it involves altering an embryo’s DNA.
What is IFV?
- In vitro fertilisation, also known as IFV, involves a series of procedures used to treat fertility or genetic problems and assist with conception.
- During IVF, mature eggs are collected from a woman's ovaries and fertilised by sperm in a laboratory.
- The fertilised egg or eggs are then implanted in the uterus.
- One cycle of IVF takes about two weeks.
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