麻豆传媒

A Los Angeles couple against their fertility clinic and physician after genetic testing revealed that the daughter they raised for months was the biological child of complete strangers.

Daphna and Alexander Cardinale, along with their attorney, Adam Wolf of Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane & Conway, described the trauma they've experienced during a press conference held virtually on Monday. The couple said that they initiated the IVF process through the California Center for Reproductive Health (CCRH) with Eliran Mor, MD, in order to have a second child. However, due to an alleged embryo mix-up, the Cardinales and another family they'd never met had to exchange baby girls months after their 2019 births.

"It's not easy to talk about this, but we know how important it is to share our story so that this will never happen again," Daphna said during the press conference.

Daphna gave birth in September 2019. Right away, something hadn't seemed right.

Alexander was immediately surprised by his daughter's appearance, according to the couple's complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The baby girl had much darker skin than any other family member and jet-black hair. Over time, Alexander's feelings of confusion and discomfort continued to grow.

"Alexander was so upset that he was staying up at night, staring at their newborn child, wondering if she was truly theirs," the complaint stated. "After learning this, Daphna insisted they take the DNA test, expecting that the results would put everyone's mind at ease."

However, that wasn't the case. The daughter they delivered wasn't related to either one of them, according to the complaint.

Ultimately, Daphna and Alexander contacted an attorney who reached out to CCRH and Mor. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving 2019, the attorney called to say that CCRH thought the embryos had been mixed up when an embryology lab took biopsies to send in for genetic testing. The Cardinales' complaint also names the lab and its parent company, said to be owned by Mor, as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, Daphna was surgically implanted against her will or knowledge with the sperm and egg of complete strangers, and the Cardinales' embryo was transferred to that same couple several weeks later.

After the discovery, the next few months were a "non-stop nightmare for Daphna and Alexander," the complaint stated. "At a time when they should have been enjoying and chronicling their newborn's latest accomplishments and milestones, they instead were spending days talking to lawyers and sleepless nights wondering if their family would be ripped apart."

Making matters worse, the Cardinales' 5-year-old daughter was "bonding and falling deeper in love" with the sister she'd always wanted, according to the complaint.

During that same time, CCRH allegedly found a couple who were perhaps the biological parents of the Cardinales' daughter, and additional genetic testing was arranged.

"Eight days later, on Christmas Eve, the Cardinales learned that the testing had confirmed that the Cardinales had given birth to couple two's child, and vice versa," the complaint said.

Shortly thereafter, the couples met at a law office, and held their biological children for the first time days later, according to the complaint.

The couples continued to meet nearly every day to spend time with one another and exchange the babies for brief visits, the complaint noted. "Each day was a strain that wore on the adults and their children alike."

After the babies' first overnight stays on Jan. 16, 2020, the couples decided that "the constant switching was just too hard emotionally, especially on the older children, and the babies would stay in their new homes for good," according to the complaint. "Life was exceedingly difficult after the switch."

In stark contrast to "the idyllic picture of parenthood sold by [the] defendants," the couples had to turn to the court system to obtain legal custody of their own children, the complaint said. "They ultimately signed lengthy gestational carrier contracts to formalize the exchange."

Alexander called the exchange "heartbreaking" during Monday's press conference. He said that he and his wife had believed they were seeking help "within a very professional industry," adding that they never knew something like what they've experienced could happen.

Daphna said that there is "no way to describe the pain" her family has endured. She added that they continue to see mental health professionals for trauma.

"Fertility disasters are becoming more commonplace," said Wolf, the Cardinales' attorney. "The industry is in desperate need of regulation."

The Cardinales are seeking to recover emotional damages, compensatory and property damages, and other costs. Their lawsuit also requested a jury trial.

CCRH did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Mor could not immediately be reached.

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