Woman sues IVF clinic for Sh300m over baby from the 'wrong embryo'

It is perhaps every woman’s wish to hold a bundle a joy in their arms, nurse the baby as they watch the milestones of their ‘minion.’

Since life has its twists and turns, bringing another life to earth, is sometimes a mirage. Nevertheless, science has a solution, in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

As Kenya grapples with surrogacy arrangements, a new and Kenya’s most expensive surrogacy case has been filed before the High Court. A woman codenamed June for ethics purposes, is demanding Sh300 million compensation from fertility expert Dr Sarita Sukhija and her clinic Myra IVF Centre.

She accuses the doctor and clinic of implanting an unauthorised and unknown embryo that was not her choice, resulting in a child with a different blood group and a lifelong deformity.

Jane said she purposely brought sperm from Seattle, in the US after repeated failures with local sperm banks and lack of information about locals’ medical history, genetic traits and physical characteristics.

She claimed she spent more than Sh200,000 for the sperm, with a guarantee of good results following her personal research, albeit being costly.

According to court documents, her motherhood journey with the clinic started sometime in January 2020. She said after several tests, the doctor recommended assisted reproduction procedures.

“Over the course of this treatment, and on my third IVF round, it became apparent that I did not have viable eggs and as a result, I was advised by the defendants that for any chance of a successful outcome, I would require both the egg donor and a sperm donor to proceed with assisted reproduction,” she said.

June said with the guidance of the clinic’s personnel, she selected a female Kenyan egg donor, whom she personally knew. “The donor was medically screened and vetted by the defendants to ensure she was both eligible and compatible for the procedure,” she said, adding that her choices were meant to maximise chances of becoming a mother.

“I thereafter personally arranged for the importation of the donor sperm from the US. This process was financially draining but necessary given the medical history and previous treatment failures,” claimed Jane adding that she had a guarantee of getting a child who was O+, which was her blood type.

“I had a legitimate expectation that any resulting embryos would carry the O+ blood type, ensuring compatibility and consistency in the event of a successful pregnancy,” she continued.

Fast forward to March 9, 2022, Jane narrated that the clinic implanted two embryos from the batch it had stored. Court documents indicate that 10 days later, Jane was told she would be a mother.

In April, she said, even more exciting story came about after an ultrasound scan, as it showed that she was now to be a mother of not one but twins. She said she was told that everything was progressing well.

Subsequent scans showed the fetuses seemed to be girls. She said the clinic then recommended that her cervix be stitched close to reduce the risk of premature birth, which she stated is a known complication in twin pregnancies.

However, she narrated that in July the same year, successive ultrasounds indicated that one of the minors had shown reduced growth compared to her twin. She stated that she got assurances that everything would be okay, as it would allegedly be managed medically.

Jane sued Myra and Sukhija on behalf of the second minor. She further said she ended up in hospital, where it was allegedly discovered that the second minor had developmental complications. According to her, this raised serious concerns about the differences between the two embryos.

Jane claimed that other tests during her final pregnancy stages indicated that one child had stopped growing at 34 weeks of gestation, in doctors sought to have them born before the due date.

According to her, the minor at the heart of the case was born with different genetic and physical traits. She said the child had darker skin, African textured hair, which was different from the Caucasian sperm donor and blood group A+, which she claimed was different from those of the donors.

“These findings immediately cast doubt on the accuracy and reliability of the embryo identification, labelling, and transfer process performed by the defendants. They strongly suggested a potential mix-up of embryos resulting from negligence handling or procedural failure by the first and second respondents,” she claimed.

She also claimed further examination of the minor revealed ambiguous genitalia, leading the pediatric specialists to allegedly differ on assigning the child’s sex. She said eventually, the child was identified as a male, which allegedly contradicted the assessments done at the IVF clinic. She claimed he also has an abnormally shaped right ear, has an extra finger (polydactyly), and abnormal skull and spinal development.

She said the other twin is a healthy female with appearance, blood group and genetics fully consistent with those of the donors.

Jane claimed she sought investigations from the College of American Pathologists in South Africa, which allegedly confirmed the minor was indeed a boy and did not share any biological relationship with the donor of the sperm she got from US.

She argued that since the child requires special care in his lifetime, the clinic’s alleged negligence turned her life upside-down. Jane said she was working abroad but had to remain in Kenya to take care of him. She claimed it created a burden for her family and led to depression, knowing that she allegedly got the wrong embryo.