For years a Queens, New York couple had been trying to get pregnant and when they finally did, thanks to the assistance of a Los Angeles fertility clinic, they were ecstatic. However, their joy was short-lived. Upon giving birth to twins, the Asian couple realized their children belonged to someone else, and it was due to an IVF mix-up at the clinic, a lawsuit charges.
The couple, identified as Y.Z. and A.P. in court documents, had made countless attempts to get pregnant via natural and artificial insemination since they were married in 2012. Frustrated, they turned to the CHA Fertility Center, Run, which claims to have helped thousands of other parents from over 22 countries, the New York Post reported.
In January 2018, they traveled to meet with Dr. Joshua Berger and co-owner Simon Hong and shortly after they began treatment, which involved numerous tests, procedures that ultimately produced eight embryos. In total, the couple claimed to have spent $100,000 in medical costs and travel expenses.
A.P attempted to have an embryo implanted in July 2018 but it failed. A month later, the couple tried again with two female embryos and by September they were pregnant and expecting twins. However, a sonogram revealed that they were carrying boys.
Confused, the couple contacted CHA but their concerns were reportedly dismissed. The doctor "assured [A.P. and Y.Z.] that they were having girls and that nothing was wrong," court documents filed July 1 read, per the New York Post.
A.P. entered a New York hospital on March 30 of this year and gave birth via cesarean section the following day, but her babies were both boys and neither showed signs of the couple's Asian ethnicity, according to the legal filings.
Genetic tests were performed by CHA personnel and it was confirmed that the newborn babies had no genetic relation to A.P. and Y.Z. The two boys did not share genetic relation to each other either, and the couple was forced to hand them over to their respective biological parents, also clients of CHA, the lawsuit states.
The couple does not know what happened to their female embryos and claim the ordeal has left them with "permanent emotional injuries from which they will not recover," according to their court papers. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of medical malpractice, negligence, and 14 other counts, CNN reported.
CHA did not return a request for comment, according to the Post.
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