Clinic mix-up 'gives white couple black twins

Ananova ^ | July 8, 2002

[TaxPayer2000]

Clinic mix-up 'gives white couple black twins'

A white couple have reportedly had black twins after a mix-up at an NHS fertility clinic.

The IVF blunder, thought to be the first in Britain, could lead to a court battle over who are the twins' legal parents.

The white couple, who have not been named, went to the fertility clinic for IVF treatment after trying unsuccessfully for years to have a child, says the Sun.

During the process, sperm provided by the man and eggs from the woman are mixed in a laboratory, and are then placed into the woman to develop.

The British couple noticed something was wrong when the babies were born and were clearly dark-skinned, the Sun said.

The blunder could have been caused by the clinic using a black man's sperm to fertilise the white woman's egg, or by the clinic implanting a back couple's fertilised egg into the white woman.

A source at the NHS Trust in question, which cannot be named, told the Sun: "Great steps have been taken to ensure that this sort of thing never happens. It must be a one in a million chance. The big problem now is, who are the real parents of the twins?"

IVF, or in vitro fertilisation, is used by about 27,000 couples a year in Britain.

Britain is not thought to have had such a mix-up before.

But an American mother, Donna Fasano of New York, gave birth to another couple's baby in 1998. Ms Fasano, who is white, gave birth to a black child and a judge ordered that she should hand the infant over to his biological parents.

In Holland, suspicions were raised when a woman called Wilma Stuart, who is white, gave birth to dark-skinned twins in 1993. DNA tests showed the hospital had mistakenly mixed sperm from her husband with that of a black man from the Dutch Antilles. She kept the twins.

Story filed: 07:50 Monday 8th July 2002

[TaxPayer2000]

reparations, or affirmative action,

take your pick

[Dakotabound]

Geez...carry the kids for 9 months, then all of a sudden "they aren't yours"??

Oops, got the wrong color...take it back to the store and get a refund, wouldya honey?

[palmer]

Maybe they shouldn't have ordered their kid from the Oscar Meyer Artificially Inseminated Test-Tube Surrogate Discount Embryo Farm.

[KuernoDeChivo]

God never made that mistake when he was in charge...Hmm

[evad]

Turn 'em into Tiger 2 and Tiger 3.

[fporretto]

To me, the interesting part of this will only arise when the fight begins over the custody of the children.

If the disenfranchised parents say they don't want to raise children who are plainly not theirs, will they be accused of racism?

If the clinic insists that the children be "repatriated" to whoever donated the sperm/egg combination, will they be accused of racism?

What activist group will start shouting, marching, demanding "justice" and threatening riots first? And will they be accused of racism?

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit The Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com

[aculeus]

Here's another report

BBC News Online: Health

Monday, 8 July, 2002, 10:02 GMT 11:02 UK
White IVF couple 'have black twins'



The clinic mixed donor samples

A mix-up at a fertility clinic has led to a white couple having black twins, it is reported.
It is believed to be the first time that such a mistake has happened in Britain.

Health officials have not confirmed the report, but a legal injunction banning the naming of the parties involved suggests it is accurate.

Q&A: IVF "mix-up" - click here.

There may now be a legal battle over who are the legitimate parents. A hearing into the case is scheduled for October.


The Sun newspaper reports that the white couple went to the fertility clinic for IVF treatment after trying unsuccessfully for years to have a child.

IVF involves mixing sperm from the man and eggs from the woman together in the laboratory, before they are placed in the woman.

When the babies were born, the couple noticed that they were clearly dark-skinned, and suspected that something had gone wrong.

Possible errors

It is possible that the clinic used a black man's sperm to fertilise the white woman's egg, or implanted a black couple's fertilised egg into the woman.

A source at the NHS trust in question, which cannot be named, told the Sun: "Great steps have been taken to ensure that this sort of thing never happens.

"It must be a one in a million chance.

"The big problem now is, who are the real parents of the twins?"

IVF, or in vitro fertilisation, is used by about 27,000 couples a year in Britain.

Fertility expert Dr Mohammed Taranissi, director of the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London, told the BBC that such a mistake could not happen regularly.

He said: "It is extremely unlikely because there are always double checks at every step of the way.

"Insemination, checking for eggs, putting embryos back are always checked by two people just to make sure that these kind of incidents do not happen."

He said there were three possible explanations.

"The first possibility is human error, which is rare, but it can happen.

"The second possibility is whether the couple themselves have used donated sperm or eggs or donated embryos, although in these kind of cases, we try to match the physical characteristics of the couple, but there might have been a problem there."

Dr Taranissi added it was possible that the couple had passed on a genetic disorder to their children that had resulted in a change to their skin pigmentation. However, this was unlikely.

American baby

Dr Sammy Lee, of the Portland Hospital in London, said patients should not be alarmed.

But he said: "It should not be a surprise to people because we know that human error can always occur.

"It is a very stressful environment. If you have got a lot of couples coming through, the incubator is full of dishes, and you are working a very tight schedule, then it is possible that the wrong dish may have been taken out of the incubator."

Dr Lee said the case could prompt complex legal argument.

However, he said: "I believe the couple had decided they want to keep the babies. I don't see anything wrong with that, and I hope they will be allowed to."

An American mother, Donna Fasano of New York, gave birth to another couple's baby in 1998.

Ms Fasano, who is white, gave birth to a black child and a judge ordered that she should hand the infant over to his biological parents.

In Holland, suspicions were raised when a woman called Wilma Stuart, who is white, gave birth to dark-skinned twins in 1993.

DNA tests showed the hospital had mistakenly mixed sperm from her husband with that of a black man from the Dutch Antilles. She kept the twins.

[lodwick]

Ooopsie. bttt ;-)

[2sheep]

Who are the injured parties? The white parents because of having black babies or the black babies because of being born to white parents against their will?

[Pearls Before Swine]

Who are the injured parties?

The father and the mother are the injured parties. They, like most of us, wanted children that were genetically their own. From that point of view, the father has stepchildren, and the mother didn't get to choose the father of her children.

[Prodigal Daughter]

Fertility expert Dr Mohammed Taranissi, director of the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London, told the BBC that such a mistake could not happen regularly.

This is NOT the first time and it won't be the last. Maybe Dr Mohammed Taranissi used some Libyan or Sudanese specimens.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Has the parent's DNA been tested ? Could be they are the parents of the twins.

[MissAmericanPie]

I feel the same way, she should keep the babies, even if it breaks up her marriage.

[FITZ]

Dr Taranissi added it was possible that the couple had passed on a genetic disorder to their children that had resulted in a change to their skin pigmentation.

Sure. Maybe they ought to compare these babies' skin color to the doctor's skin color. There was that one doctor in the US who was impregnating women with his own sperm.

[flying Elvis]

Sounds like a Jim Carrey movie: Me, Myself, and Irene.

[Godel]

You're twisted. The husband has a right to want children that are biologically his. Raising children is a group decision. The children should be put up for adoption and the clinic should provide the parents with a free second in-vitro fertilization and get things right. There should also be a multi-billion dollar lawsuit for the emotional distress.

If the wife was raped and gave birth to two children would you say she is morally compelled to keep them or should she be able to give them up and have children ONLY with her husband, the man she loves. This fertility mix-up is essentially a rape because she has been impregnated without her consent.

[MissAmericanPie]

What kind of maternal instincts do you have? Your flesh and blood is beautiful in all the world. She consented to the procedure. Yes there was a mistake, was it the babies mistake..no..are they guilty of anything? No. Are they entitled to all the love and care that a mother can provide them? Yes.

No one would seperate me from my flesh and blood, I would keep them at any price, when you bring their life into the world you don't abandon them, and no one that loves you would expect you to.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

a mix-up...

A 'mix-up' is adding salt in lieu of sugar to ones coffee.

This is more apt to be classified as a careless mistake of the most traumatic proportions...

[Godel]

What kind of maternal instincts do you have?

None

There was a mistake, but the man should not be forced to raise children that are clearly not his. The children deserve to have two parents that want them, and I think that the father will wind up hating and resenting the children and eventually his wife. The most compassionate thing for all concernced would be to put the kids up for adoption and then get it right.

I know that in today's climate its PC to pretend genetics don't matter. Thats a lie. Intelligence is between 40-80% genetic, other traits even more so. I think the father in question has a right to have children that are genetically his. Likely if this selfish woman keeps the kids, she will refuse to have anymore since 2 is average for most people. Then this man is denied the right to ever have any children of his own while his wife raises another man's children.

Only the most hateful of women could even contemplate doing this to the man they supposedly promised to love and honor for their entire life.

[Politicalmom]

You are putting your feelings on this man.

How do you know he doesn't want to keep the babies?

There are some people who realize that you can love children who aren't "yours".

[MissAmericanPie]

Yes, he has a right to stay or go. It would have to be his choice and no resentment held against him.

In all the mistakes and injuries done here, and all the innocent involved, the most innocent and in need of protection is the babies. The grown ups just have to deal with their issues and make their decisions. As for me, I would never abandon my offspring period, no matter what the cost, or what the hardship, never, nadda, wouldn't happen.

[HairOfTheDog]

So these new adoptive parents can love children that are not their own flesh and blood, but this man cannot? Why? Who knows how he feels about it? Who knows how she feels about it? Not us!

This is one of those situations that never should have happened but it did. It isn't the end of the world. They aren't the wrong shoes in the box, they are babies. Personally I think we need a no return policy.

[Ronin]

This may have been the "Mother of all Practical Jokes"

[Godel]

So these new adoptive parents can love children that are not their own flesh and blood, but this man cannot? Why? Who knows how he feels about it? Who knows how she feels about it? Not us!

Because adoptive parents made the choice, he didn't. If the parents had wanted children that weren't genetically theirs I doubt they would have paid for a costly IVF procedure.

[TaxPayer2000]

As for me, I would never abandon my offspring period, no matter what the cost, or what the hardship, never, nadda, wouldn't happen.

Amen

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Dr Taranissi added it was possible that the couple had passed on a genetic disorder to their children that had resulted in a change to their skin pigmentation.

Many an ex-wife has tried that dodge.