Couple sues Fort Worth fertility clinic for using the wrong sperm in IVF procedure
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – A North Texas couple is suing a Fort Worth fertility clinic they claim used the wrong sperm to conceive their children through in vitro fertilization.
"How could this happen?" said Tommy Hastings, one of the Bryans' attorneys. "How could your procedures be so bad, or how could someone violate your procedures so bad, that this could happen? It should never happen."
According to the lawsuit, Camille and Derrick Bryan turned to Fort Worth Fertility to help grow their family through IVF. Her eggs were harvested and his sperm collected at the clinic.
"They go right back and supposedly create the embryos, so to the best of their knowledge they'd have no reason to think anything would be amiss," Hastings said.
In March 2016, Camille underwent a successful embryo transfer and gave birth to a boy approximately nine months later. In October 2018, she had another successful embryo transfer and gave birth to a girl approximately nine months later.
The Bryans say they decided to get their son's DNA tested last year after their pediatrician made an offhand remark about his birthmark, a type most commonly found in children of Asian descent.
"So they got confused and went and did a DNA test, thinking oh wow, one of us must have Asian heritage and not even know about it," Hastings said. "And when the DNA results came back, it excluded Mr. Bryan as the father."
The Bryans filed a lawsuit against Dr. Robert Kaufmann, Fort Worth Fertility, the labs the clinics work with, saying they "recklessly, negligently, or intentionally mishandled the sperm and allowed an unknown donor to be used to fertilize Camille's eggs."
The couple is seeking more than a $1 million in damages, but more than anything, Hastings says they want answers.
"One thing to make clear, they love their children," he said. "These are their children. They love them. It makes no difference in their love. But it's not about whether you love your children. It's about what happened, and finding out answers. They have a lot of questions. Obviously, the first one is what happened."
Hastings says the Bryans also want to make sure another family won't ever be put in a similar situation.
"I don't think they'll stop with this case until they have assurances this cannot happen again," Hastings said. "It looks like somebody just made a really bad mistake, and what we hope is that this didn't happen to other people as well."
CBS 11 reached out to Dr. Kaufmann and Fort Worth Fertility multiple times for comment but didn't get a response.