Couple conceived twins via IVF only to learn that husband is not the real father

An in vitro fertilization clinic in Bilbao has been ordered to compensate 230,000 euros for "moral damages" to a couple and their twin children after it was discovered that the children are not of the father.

As revealed by the newspaper El Mundo, the two brothers were born thanks to an 'in vitro' fertilization treatment contracted by the couple in a specialized clinic in Bilbao.

Throughout 2015, the couple performed the treatment consisting of the selection of the husband's only sperm, which would later be injected into an egg of the woman. Once the embryos developed they were transferred to the maternal womb.

The woman became pregnant with twins and the whole process continued normally. Her children were born in February 2016 in a hospital in Bilbao. Read more on our Twitter account @amomama_usa

In 2017, a routine blood test uncovered the "incompatibility" between the blood groups of the father and the children. Subsequently, a specialized genetics laboratory ruled that "without a doubt", he was not the "biological father of the minors".

Now, following the demand of the couple, a court in Madrid - where is the registered office of the insurer of the clinic responsible for the treatment - ruled that there has been a "negligent act" for a "failure in the custody, conservation, transfer, identification, and management of reproductive material."

The sentence grants compensation of 40,000 euros for each of the children, 50,000 for the mother and 100,000 for the father. For this reason, the medical center must comply with the sentence that pertains to the psychological damage caused by its serious error.

HARD REALITY

The national fertility regulator warned that people expecting to be parents in the UK are being "false hopes" in foreign IVF clinics that claim success rates as high as 98 percent based on highly selective data.

These clinics are exhibiting at events in the UK for couples who consider a fertility treatment and make claims that no UK IVF provider could do, said Sally Cheshire, president of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

The regulator said it was unable to regulate clinics abroad, while fertility experts said some clinics are taking advantage of the hopes of vulnerable people and could be dangerous if they lead with these inflated claims of success.

HFEA data from UK clinics in 2016 show that for women under 35 years of age, who have the best chance of getting pregnant by IVF, on average, each round of embryo implants has only a 32.5% chance.

But a clinic in Cyprus, which is part of the international fertility group Bahceci, says on its website: "We have up to 97.82 percent of pregnancy rates thanks to cutting-edge tests, available in Bahceci in Cyprus."

Others, such as the FIV-Cube clinic in Prague, specify a "cumulative success rate" after one or more embryo transfers of more than 84 percent. This is because the NHS groups that have tightened the money have been reducing the number of IVF cycles that will be offered to women.

In another story, the parents’ photo of a baby that appears to be encircled by hundreds of IVF needles went viral in 2018

Patricia and Kimberly O’Neill welcomed a baby girl, London, to their family after trying for a long time, and they decided to take a photo addressing their undying hope.