Claiming that the staff implanted “dead, toxic” embryos, over ten US couples have sued an IVF clinic

Eleven American couples are suing an IVF clinic, claiming the clinic knew the embryos it implanted were non-viable and implanted “dead” and “toxic” embryos nevertheless. In a combined complaint that was filed on Tuesday, nine couples said that the employees at the California facility known as Ovation Fertility subjected the embryos to fatal quantities of “poison,” as reported by ABC News. They came forward about their unsuccessful attempts to implant the embryos in January of this year.

In the days and weeks after their miscarriages, the spouses allegedly placed the responsibility on themselves and their bodies, as stated in the lawsuit. To pinpoint the source of the problem, some even underwent medical treatments. Ovation Fertility began informing their doctors that something was off in the tests in February and early March, according to the source.

According to the lawsuit, the reproductive center didn’t admit anything was wrong until several fertility physicians asked why the thawed embryos had a 0% success rate, when the success rate is usually 75%. It goes on to suggest that Ovation attempted to “trick” patients into signing non-disclosure and claim releases.

These nine couples have come forward after the announcement last week of a similar complaint by two other couples who claim that a lab worker accidentally killed their embryos by using hydrogen peroxide in an incubator instead of a sterile solution.

A number of claims have been leveled at Ovation Fertility in the lawsuits, including medical battery, carelessness, concealment, intentional and negligent deception, loss of consortium, and negligent hiring, retention, and monitoring.

The reproductive center assured ABC News that it takes the “health and integrity of every embryo under our care” extremely seriously and has procedures in place to ensure this. A tiny number of individuals were affected by this one occurrence, which was linked to an accidental mistake made by a laboratory worker. We started looking into it right away when we saw the pregnancy statistics weren’t as high as our normal success rates. Embryos that were not viable were not intentionally transferred for implantation, according to Ovation Fertility.

Since the problem was identified, we have maintained close communication with the small number of patients affected. The chance to assist patients in starting families is very appreciated, and we will maintain our strict standards to ensure the safety of this process,” it stated.