The University Medical Centre in Utrecht, Netherlands, has just contacted 26 couples with devastating news. The supposed father of these 26 mothers or mothers-to-be may not be who they thought.
While performing IVF procedures, this Dutch lab realized only recently that they had been partaking in a “procedural error” in their IVF process from mid-April 2015 up to mid-November 2016.
“As a result, sperm cells from another couple being treated may have been involved in the fertilization of the ovaries of 26 couples,” the institution wrote in a statement.
In plainer terms, 26 women who went to have their eggs fertilized by their partners’ sperm may have gotten their eggs fertilized by another man.
Pipettes used in IVF procedures should be properly taken care of and disposed. However, a particular mechanism in the pipette that had been used between April and November had caused some sperm to stay within the pipette – even after the tip had been replaced, as it ought to have been.
“In these cases, there is a chance that the ova have been fertilized by sperm cells from a man other than the intended father.”
The medical center is continuing to investigate how such a tragic mistake could have happened and has since contacted all 26 couples who have been involved in this incident.
No word has been released on how the institution will handle the employee who performed these procedures, and all the affected couples have been offered free DNA tests to find clarity and peace.
