Couple Given Wrong Embryo In Clinic Scandal

A couple who sued fertility medics after they gave them the wrong embryo have told of the shock when they realised the son they had raised was not theirs.

Illustrative image of First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, China, undated. (AsiaWire)

Husband Chen Dong and wife Weng Lei have turned to the IVF clinic in Anhui Province, east China, because they were desperate to have a son.

But eight years after the baby was born, the couple were suspicious when the boy clearly looked nothing like either of them, reported local media.

And when DNA test revealed he was not their son in 2020, a court heard, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University refused to talk to them.

So the couple sued the clinic, reported local media, in an attempt to get answers from them.

Now judges have awarded the couple CNY 640,000 (GBP 76,880) in compensation after being told of the hospital’s chaotic embryo records.

Chen said: “Compensation means nothing to me and I’m past the age of having another child.”

Judges heard how many embryos were given the same identification numbers and the Chen family’s entire medical record had gone missing.

The clinic had not been able to provide the names of the couple whose sperm and egg had been used for the baby, named Xiaoxuan in local media.

And Chen told how he wanted to find out if his and his wife’s sperm and eggs had been used to create a baby for someone else.

Chen explained: “I want to know if I have a biological son and I want to find out my son’s biological parents so that he can get medical assistance in case of an accident.”

But the hospital told them they should just be happy that they have a child and keep “an open mind”, and not care if they are not the boy’s natural parents.

Weng said: “The child is doing very well, but we originally wanted our own children, not through other people’s donated embryos.”

The couple already had one daughter, who reportedly suffers from a severe illness.

But Weng said she wanted another child so much that she even went through the process despite the many risks.

She said: “The doctor told me during my pregnancy that I could end up becoming paralysed but I decided to go through with it.”

Weng added that she was above the age of 40 at that time and went through three surgeries along with several painful medical procedures.

Despite all that, the pair claims their loving relationship with the boy will not change.

Following the incident, experts have called upon authorities for more legislation to broaden the scope of crimes of medical malpractice.