Artificial insemination

IVF nightmare: couples give birth to other people’s children

Daphna and Alexander Cardinale

(Bild: Daphna and Alexander Cardinale)

When Daphna Cardinale (43) and her husband Alexander decided to try to get pregnant using artificial insemination, she didn't suspect anything bad. But then came the big blow: the child she gave birth to was not hers.

What to do if the child does not look like the parents at all after artificial insemination using the IVL method? That's what happened to Daphna and Alexander Cardinale from the US state of California. The now 43-year-old gave birth to her daughter in Los Angeles in September 2019 - but she had a much darker skin color than mom and dad, reports the British newspaper "Daily Star", among others.

As the child's father in particular suffered massively from the conspicuous differences and justified doubts, it was decided two months later to carry out a DNA test at home as a precaution. The shock discovery: Daphna had actually given birth to another couple's child.

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

• Latin for "fertilization in a jar"
• The egg cells are brought together with the prepared sperm in a test tube.
• Spontaneous fertilization takes place.

The same thing happened to another couple who gave birth to Daphna and her husband's baby. Deep sorrow and despair spread, says Daphne. After all, the two women were deprived of the opportunity to carry their own child to term.

The children are swapped
"There is no one who can give you advice. So in the end, the four of us kind of huddled together and it's a blessing that we all agree," says Alexander. It was with a heavy heart that the four parents made the decision to swap the two children - even though they had missed their birth and first months of life.

The two swapped babies

(Bild: Daphna and Alexander Cardinale/ Facebook)

"Since then, we've spent every vacation together. We've spent every birthday together since then - and we've somehow brought the families together," Alexander enthuses. The families are still in close contact: The two girls attended elementary school and ballet classes together.

Case ends up in court
Despite the happy ending, the four of them still do not want to refrain from taking legal action against the clinic, which had obviously messed up. VitroTech Labs is accused of accidentally swapping the women's embryos and implanting them incorrectly.

"Daphna was surgically implanted - against her will or knowledge - with the sperm and egg of a man and a woman who were complete strangers to her," the court documents state.