A biracial baby was born to a white couple in Brisbane due to an IVF mix-up that Australia’s largest fertility company, Virtus Health, kept secret for over a decade. The incident, which occurred in 2014, only came to light after an investigation by ABC revealed the details of the birth and the company’s subsequent cover-up.
The Queensland Fertility Group (QFG), a subsidiary of Virtus Health, confirmed the case only after being questioned by ABC Investigations. The couple had chosen a donor whose description matched the husband’s Caucasian features, but the baby was born with an entirely different ethnicity. The revelation occurred at a Brisbane hospital, marking the first time the couple realized something had gone awry with their treatment.
Unveiling the Mix-Up
ABC Investigations discovered that embryos were created at QFG’s Brisbane clinic using the woman’s eggs and donor sperm from a US sperm bank. An internal investigation by the Seattle Sperm Bank found that two men had donated on the same day—one Caucasian and the other African American—leading to a mix-up in the samples.
“We can confirm that the laboratory error of the wrong label being affixed to the donor specimen occurred in 2013,” stated Seattle Sperm Bank. “Following this, we created a robust, seven-step double verification system to prevent this type of error from occurring again.”
Despite the error, neither QFG nor Virtus Health had checked if their international sperm providers were performing basic checks, such as double-witnessing, which has been the industry standard in Australia since 2012.
Silence and Settlement
The Queensland Fertility Group and Virtus Health went to great lengths to conceal the incident. The Brisbane couple was paid to remain silent through a strict non-disclosure agreement, leaving them fearful of speaking out. Family friend Jo Bastin criticized the clinic’s treatment of the couple, stating they felt isolated and unsupported.
“They went to the clinic three times, and the clinic dismissed them,” Bastin said. “The mother felt very, very isolated, and there was never any contact from the clinic to see how she and the baby were going.”
QFG acknowledged the incident, attributing it to former management, and expressed regret for the lack of support and communication provided to the family during their ordeal.
Regulatory Oversight and Industry Implications
The use of incorrect sperm to create embryos is classified as a “Severe Notifiable Adverse Event” under the industry’s Code of Practice, which requires immediate reporting to the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC). However, the mix-up was never reported, highlighting a historical lack of accountability and transparency within the fertility industry.
“The current RTAC had no prior formal or informal knowledge of this incident,” RTAC stated. “There is no record of any notice or report made by Queensland Fertility Group in relation to the incident that took place in 2014.”
Fertility researcher Dr. Karin Hammarberg emphasized the need for transparency within the fertility sector, stating, “We have to take learnings from mistakes. That’s the bottom line.”
Financial and Ethical Ramifications
At the time of the mix-up, Virtus Health was a publicly listed company, which obligated it to disclose such incidents to the ASX and shareholders. Rachel Waterhouse, CEO of the Australian Shareholders Association, stressed the importance of transparency and integrity in healthcare businesses.
“Shareholders want to be kept informed around a company and the risks,” Waterhouse said. “Transparency is the key.”
In response to the incident, Australia’s health ministers launched a “rapid review” of the nation’s fertility industry, with calls for the industry-funded RTAC to be replaced with an independent regulator.
Ms. Bastin expressed concerns about the potential for other undisclosed errors, stating, “The clinic needs to be held accountable because these things are still happening … they should have got it right by now.”
The story of this mix-up and cover-up underscores the critical need for stringent regulatory oversight and transparency in the fertility industry to prevent similar incidents in the future.
