A US fertility clinic is being sued over an embryo mix-up involving three different couples.
The Los-Angeles based CHA Fertility Centre faces claims of medical malpractice, breach of contract, and battery.
Anni Manukyan, from California, complained in court papers she had another couple’s embryo inserted into her in August 2018.
When the IVF failed to produce a pregnancy, Mrs Manukyan and her husband Ashot were reportedly devastated at the loss of their child.
But, their lawyer said, their embryo had in fact been injected into a woman living in New York.
They added that the woman, who is Asian, gave birth months later to two boys who were not Asian nor related to each other.
The Manukyans claim they were then forced to go to court to gain custody of the son born from their embryo, after the New York couple initially claimed parental rights.
The child was eventually handed over in a hotel lobby, Mrs Manukyan describing the encounter as “heart-breaking” and “terrible”.
She said at a news conference: “[The birth mother] is a very lovely lady and I am eternally grateful to her for carrying my baby and taking care of him even after birth.
The human embroys alleged mix-up involved three couples
“She is a wonderful woman, and I pray for her everyday [that] God will give her her own beautiful babies one day. She deserves that.”
The lawsuit claims one of the twins born in New York was from their embryo, which the Manukyans claim CHA attempted to conceal.
Mrs Manukyan added that she “relied on CHA to help us build a family and, instead, they robbed us of the opportunity to bring our own son into this world”.
“We can never forgive CHA. Our goal as a family is to hold CHA accountable and make sure that no one ever suffers like we did,” she added.
The Asian couple, who have not been named, sued the clinic in New York last week.
A woman answering phones at the clinic said on Wednesday no-one was available for comment.
CHA’s website calls it a “world renowned fertility clinic”.
