BBC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A woman in Australia has unknowingly given birth to a stranger’s baby, after her fertility clinic accidentally implanted another woman’s embryos into her.<\/p>\n The mix-up at Monash IVF in Brisbane, Queensland has been blamed on human error, Australian media reports.<\/p>\n “On behalf of Monash IVF, I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened,” CEO Michael Knaap said, adding that everyone at the fertility clinic was “devastated” at the mistake.<\/p>\n Last year, the same clinic paid a A$56m (\u00a326.8m) settlement to hundreds of patients whose embryos were destroyed despite them being viable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n According to a spokesperson for Monash IVF, staff became aware of the problem in February when the birth parents asked to transfer their remaining frozen embryos to another clinic.<\/p>\n Monash has confirmed that an embryo from another patient had been mistakenly thawed and transferred to the wrong person, resulting in the birth of a child.<\/p>\n The clinic has launched an investigation and Mr Knaap said the clinic was confident it was an isolated incident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Monash said when the incident was discovered it activated its crisis management team and within a week the Brisbane clinic started meeting affected patients to apologise and offer them support, the firm said.<\/p>\n The company has also reported the incident to relevant regulators, including the<\/p>\n Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee, and also voluntarily reported the incident to the new Queensland assisted reproductive technology regulator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Last year, Monash IVF reached a A$56m (\u00a326.8m) settlement in a landmark class action<\/a> with 700 former patients for destroying embryos after inaccurate genetic testing.<\/p>\n The case found that about 35% of the embryos, which were actually normal and could have resulted in a viable pregnancy, were found to be abnormal by the faulty screening.<\/p>\n IVF – or in vitro fertilisation – involves the removal of eggs from a woman’s ovaries, which are then fertilised with sperm in a laboratory. When the fertilised eggs become embryos, they are inserted into the woman’s uterus.<\/p>\n It is an expensive process and not successful every time.<\/p>\n In 2021 there were 20,690 babies born as a result of IVF in Australia and New Zealand, according to a report by the University of New South Wales<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/f56d\/live\/31a63580-1601-11f0-b58a-6113af226972.jpg.webp\")
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