Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Wrong Woman Gets Couple's Last Embryo

By Mary Papenfuss, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 14, 2009 6:10 AM CDT

(Newser) – A British fertility clinic implanted the wrong embryo into a woman who aborted it as soon as she found out, dashing another couple's hopes of having their second baby, reports the Telegraph. When a lab assistant informed the couple, they "held each other and sobbed," said the woman. “I remember thinking: ‘That’s our last hope gone—we will never have another child.’" A rash of recent mistakes has resulted in calls for more regulation of the fertility industry.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A human embryo. (AP Photo/Advanced Cell Technology)

A human embryo is shown in a three-dimensional film on human reproduction. (AP Photo/ Fred Ernst, File)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

We were shaking with shock and bursting with anger, especially as it was the one thing all IVF patients are told could never happen. - Woman whose last embryo was implanted into the wrong wann-be mom

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 5 comments

riffran

Jun 15, 2009 8:41 AM CDT

I wonder if the respective couple will sue and try to write a book over it..

Netstorm2k10

Jun 14, 2009 6:52 AM CDT

'who aborted it as soon as she found out." Umm, damn. She could at least have spoken with the real parents about possibly carrying the baby for them, considering that she had their last shot. I'm no saying she was under any obligation to do so, but there is such a thing as doing someone a good turn.

dolcevita

Jun 14, 2009 6:28 AM CDT

Humans need to stop playing God.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

Telegraph (UK) (Source Grid »)
Times (UK) (Source Grid »)

World • Health

pregnancy • fertility • parenting • embryo • birth • mistake • fertility treatment • IVF

More Newser Stories

Pregnant Women in 50s Do Just Fine

In-vitro pregnancies of older women show no rise in complications

(NEWSER) - Women in their 50s who receive donated eggs have just as healthy pregnancies as their younger counterparts who do the same, a new study shows. In the largest analysis to date, researchers found that 101 women age 50 and older who used in-vitro fertilization had no more complications than women under 42 who used IVF, reports LiveScience . More»

US Home Births Up 29%

They're still rare, but number is rising

(NEWSER) - MSNBC's Vitals blog takes note of a trend in US births over the last decade: more are taking place at home. It cites a new government report showing that home births jumped 29% from 2004 to 2009, mostly among white women. They're still pretty rare, though, accounting for one in 90 births in that group, or 1.1%. Overall, home births accounted for only .7% (or 29,650) of the births in 2009. Even so, the rise is "surprising," writes Rita Rubin. More»

Chinese Lust to Have 'Dragon' Baby

Infants born this year will be lucky, successful, wanna-be parents believe

(NEWSER) - The dragon is one of the luckiest and most powerful signs in the Chinese zodiac, and people born in the year of the dragon—which runs from today to Feb. 9, 2013—are supposed to be strong and successful. So many Chinese and Chinese-Americans are going to extraordinary lengths to ensure they have a baby born this year, reports the Wall Street Journal . One Los Angeles-based fertility clinic says it has seen a 250% increase in business in January from people of Chinese heritage, and an egg-donation clinic in Beverly Hills has also seen a 250% jump in egg contracts. More»

Woman Passes Driver's Test— During Labor

First trip is to the hospital

(NEWSER) - Contractions 10 minutes apart didn’t stop a woman in Scotland from getting her driver’s license—and then speeding off to the hospital to give birth. She’d woken that morning at 4am after her water broke, but ignored her family’s advice and went through with the test anyway. “I had waited so long for my driving test, I was determined to do it,” says Emma French, 20. More»

12-Year-Old Delivers Baby Brother

He did it 'by instinct': mom

(NEWSER) - A British Columbia 12-year-old was watching TV at 2 am when his mother called him in: She was having a baby, and she needed help. “I didn't go through any of the preliminary labor pains,” so the birth was a complete surprise, his mother, Danielle Edwards, tells the Times Colonist . “He put his hands on his hips and said, 'Mom, this is not going to be an at-home baby.'” But when it became clear that it would be, he knew just what to do. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website