JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida couple filed a lawsuit against Brown Fertility Associates in Jacksonville, claiming the clinic used an incorrect sperm sample during in vitro fertilization treatment.
The legal action brought by Natalie and Joshua Strong alleges that the medical error resulted in the birth of a daughter who is not genetically related to Joshua Strong.
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When the Strongs decided they were going to use IVF to have their baby, they never thought their baby wouldn’t be biologically related to them.
“I was in heaven, like it was the best day of my life. And then when that hit us, it took all the happiness away, which we should have had for a very long time,” Natalie Strong said. “This is going to affect us for the rest of our lives.”
The couple discovered the issue after noticing a discrepancy in their daughter’s blood type compared to their own.
A subsequent DNA test confirmed a 0% probability of paternity for Joshua Strong.
Natalie Strong explained how the family first realized there was a problem when examining their daughter’s blood type.
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“We’re both, he’s A negative and I’m an O negative and (redacted) was B positive. So Josh is a nurse, so immediately he said, ‘Well, how does that correlate?’ And no one could figure it out,” Natalie Strong said.
Attorneys from the Fertility Law Group and The Bonderud Law Firm representing the couple stated during a Thursday news briefing that Brown Fertility Associates failed to inform the Strongs that an improper sperm sample had been used. The couple remains unaware of the current status of Joshua Strong’s original sperm sample.
Fertility Law Group also represented a couple in central Florida, who sued a fertility clinic in Longwood earlier this year after the wrong embryo was used in their procedure.
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Attorney Benjamin Ikuta said IVF mix ups are happening frequently.
“There are more laws and regulations at the local hair salon than there are in these fertility clinics, and something has to change,” Ikuta said.
Action News Jax reached out to Brown Fertility Associates.
A spokesperson said the clinic is denying the claim and there is no comment at this time and the matter is being “evaluated/litigated.”
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