A WOMAN has given birth to someone else's baby after an IVF clinic mixed up embryos.
The mum had another woman's accidentally implanted in her at Monash IVF in Brisbane, Queensland.
The provider – who operates clinics across – issued an apology to its patients, blaming the mix-up on human error.
The error was first picked up in February this year, after the couple who to the baby requested that their remaining embryos be transferred to another IVF provider.
“Instead of finding the expected number of embryos, an additional embryo remained in storage for the birth parents,”; the company said in a statement.
Monash IVF conducted an , which confirmed an embryo from another patient entirely had been incorrectly thawed and implanted into the woman, who eventually gave birth to a baby.
The birth parents were told about the incident within a week of it being discovered.
Monash IVF's chief executive, Michael Knaap, apologised for the bungle, saying: “All of us at Monash IVF are devastated and we apologise to everyone involved.
“We have undertaken additional audits and we’re confident that this is an isolated incident.”;
The company has also reported the mistake to the Reproductive Accreditation Committee the Queensland assisted reproductive technology regulator.
Out of respect for their privacy, the patients involved have not been named.
Nor has the clinic responded to questions about when the baby was born, or who has custody of the child.
Dr Hilary Bowman-Smart, a bioethicist and research fellow at the University of South , said: “This situation is devastating for everyone involved.
“Both sets of parents will be experiencing significant psychological distress – and not only because of questions around parentage.
“Experiencing infertility and going through IVF can be very tough emotionally and physically in and of itself, as well as expensive – even when things go well.
“One set of parents has lost an embryo, and one set of parents received an embryo that wasn’t theirs. Both sets of parents have experienced an incredible loss.
“We should also recognise for the woman who has given birth, this is not a stranger’s baby – she has been pregnant with this child, she gave birth to this child, and raised this child for several months as her own.”
Experts have stressed that it's very rare for a mistake like this to occur – both in and on a global scale.
Associate professor Alex Polyakov, a consultant obstetrician, gynaecologist and fertility specialist at the Royal Women's Hospital, , noted: “The probability of such an event occurring is so low that it defies statistical quantification.”
Dr Fab Horta, a women's specialist at UNSW and City Fertility in Sydney: “It’s hard to comprehend how such an unimaginable error could occur – particularly in a field where witnessing checks, double-verification, and traceability systems have long been standard practice.
“In an age where technology plays such a key role in safeguarding every step of the IVF process, this incident is simply unfathomable.
“Most of us enter this profession with a profound sense of purpose and responsibility. This incident shakes the very foundation of the trust placed in us.”
She added: “It is a tragic and sobering reminder that even in highly regulated and technologically supported systems, humans are still part of the chain.
“We must now focus on understanding what happened, supporting those affected, and ensuring it never happens again.”
Monash IVF last year reached a A$56m (£26.8m) settlement with more than 700 former patients for allegedly destroying embryos after inaccurate genetic testing.
The class action claimed about 35% of embryos found to be abnormal through the fertility provider’s flawed genetic testing were normal.
