Woman discovers fetus she’s carrying after IVF is not genetically hers

Health Ministry vows to immediately establish panel to probe rare incident; hospital says it’s looking for embryo’s biological parents

Illustrative: A pregnant woman at a hospital. (iStock via Getty Images)
Illustrative: A pregnant woman at a hospital. (iStock via Getty Images)

A woman who underwent fertility treatments at a hospital in central Israel was found to be carrying a fetus that is not genetically hers, the Health Ministry said Wednesday.

The Assuta Medical Center in Rishon Lezion told the ministry that it conducted a genetic test on a pregnant woman who had an embryo transfer following IVF, and discovered the fetus was not genetically matched to the woman or her partner.

The ministry vowed to immediately establish a committee to investigate.

“The incident is being looked into. Senior doctors from Assuta are following the case. The Health Ministry was immediately notified of the incident,” Assuta Medical Center said in a statement.

The hospital added that all cases conducted in the relevant lab were being closely examined to identify the embryo’s biological parents.

While extremely rare, similar incidents have happened before.

In November 2021, the Los Angeles Times reported that a woman had given birth to her second daughter, only to discover weeks later that the girl was unrelated to her.

Most Popular
read more: