IVF error leads Australian woman to give birth to stranger’s baby, clinic confirms

Monash IVF said the error had occurred 'despite strict laboratory safety protocols being in place'.

A woman in Brisbane, Australia, unknowingly gave birth to another couple’s child after an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinic transferred the wrong embryo due to what it described as a “human error”. The rare and distressing mix-up, which occurred at one of the country’s largest fertility providers, Monash IVF, came to light only in February this year, months after the baby was born in 2024.

Monash IVF, which operates dozens of clinics across Australia, issued a public statement on Friday confirming the error. “All of us at Monash IVF are devastated, and we apologise to everyone involved,” said CEO Michael Knaap. “We will continue to support the patients through this extremely distressing time.”

The company explained that the mistake was identified in February when staff discovered an extra embryo in storage that could not be accounted for. This prompted an internal investigation, which confirmed that an embryo belonging to another patient had mistakenly been thawed and transferred to the birth mother.

While the clinic did not disclose the age of the child or the identities of those involved, multiple Australian news outlets reported that the child was born last year.

Monash IVF said the error had occurred “despite strict laboratory safety protocols being in place”. The incident has since been reported to the relevant regulator in Queensland, where the clinic is based.

The company stated that an initial investigation had not uncovered any other such incidents. “The safety and wellbeing of our patients is our utmost priority,” the statement added. “We are reviewing our systems to ensure such an error cannot happen again.”

The case has sparked national debate and prompted renewed scrutiny of Australia’s regulatory framework for IVF. Speaking on the Today programme on Friday, Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said, “Australia’s states and territories need to see if their regulations are up to scratch. Confidence needs to be brought back, and it’s imperative that happens.”

Under current Australian law, IVF regulations vary by state and territory, a decentralised approach that some advocates argue increases the risk of oversight and error.

This is not the first time Monash IVF has faced controversy. In 2023, the company settled a class-action lawsuit involving over 700 patients who alleged that viable embryos were wrongly discarded. Monash IVF made no admission of liability but paid AUD 56 million (€32.7 million) as part of the settlement.

While extremely rare, embryo mix-ups have been reported in other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel and various parts of Europe. In February this year, a woman in the U.S. state of Georgia, Krystena Murray, filed a lawsuit after giving birth to a child who was not genetically hers. Murray, who is white and had used a white sperm donor, discovered the child was Black. She expressed her desire to raise the baby but ultimately handed the five-month-old child to the biological parents after being told she would not prevail in a legal custody battle.

In the Brisbane case, Monash IVF confirmed that the embryo transfer had involved a thawing mistake, and that the embryo had belonged to another patient entirely. The clinic has not revealed who currently has custody of the child born as a result of the mix-up.