Daphna Cardinale and husband Alexander were “devastated” to discover the child they had been raising was not theirs as their second daughter was born to another family
A couple who ended up with the wrong IVF babies following an alleged embryo mix-up at a fertility clinic have had a heartwarming solution after agreeing a deal with the parents.
Daphna Cardinale, 43, and her husband Alexander were “devastated” to discover the child they had been raising was not theirs as their second daughter was born to another family. The couple welcomed a little girl in September 2019 and became immediately suspicious because the baby had a darker skin tone than theirs. Initially, they put their thoughts aside as they trusted the IVF process and started raising the child as they fell in love with her.
However, two months after the birth, they decided to carry out at-home DNA tests, making the shocking discovery that the girl was not their biological daughter and they had been raising someone else’s child. Together with the couple who had been affected by the mix-up, the parents decided to swap the girls and start raising their own babies – after missing out on their births and first months of life.
Alexander said: “There’s no person to give you advice. So we ended up just sort of huddling together, the four of us, and it’s a blessing that we all are on the same page. We’ve spent every holiday together since then. We’ve spent every birthday together since then — and we’ve just kind of blended the families.’
Despite the switch, the families wanted to keep in contact as the girls went to the same pre-school together and both joined ballet classes so they could spend time with each other. The mix-up has led the family to sue the IVF clinic where the alleged mix-up happened. Mrs Cardinale said her family’s “heartbreak and confusion can’t be understated”, adding she was “robbed of the ability to carry my own child”.
The lawsuit explains that the couple sought help from the California Center for Reproductive Health (CCRH) and In VitroTech Labs, an embryology lab, in the summer of 2018. In VitroTech Labs allegedly inserted the embryos into the wrong women. The legal document reads: “Daphna was surgically implanted – against her will or knowledge – with the sperm and egg of a man and woman who were complete strangers to her.
“Meanwhile, Daphna and Alexander’s embryo was transferred to that same couple, Couple Two, a few weeks after Daphna’s transfer procedure. Couple Two carried to term and gave birth to a baby girl – Alexander and Daphna’s biological child – and raised her for months before Defendants’ mistakes were uncovered and proven.”
The lawsuit adds that when Mrs Cardinale gave birth to a daughter that was not hers, her husband felt like something was wrong. The document explains: “He expected to see a fair child, much like their older daughter. Instead, their Birth Daughter came out with much darker skin and jet-black hair. It was so jarring that Alexander actually took several steps away from the birthing table, backing up against the wall.”
According to the document, some friends and family members also started questioning the couple about the baby’s appearance. The situation led to “disconnect” between the couple as Mr Cardinale – a musician – was worried his wife was in denial. He was so upset that he would stay up at night, “staring at their newborn child, wondering if she was truly theirs”, the lawsuit adds.
The document says: “After learning this, Daphna insisted they take the DNA test, expecting that the results would put everyone’s mind at ease.” After several rounds of DNA tests, the Cardinales found out the truth and on December 26, 2019 contacted the couple who had been raising their biological child.
When they met at a lawyer’s office, their meeting was “terribly uncomfortable”, the legal document says. On December 31, the couples met with their children and for the first time they got to see their biological daughters. The following day, the Cardinales told their older daughter about the mix-up and she was “crushed and terrified of losing her birth sister”, begging her parents not to switch the babies.
About two weeks later, the parents officially switched their children, which took an emotional toll on the whole family. The lawsuit states: “The horror of this situation cannot be understated.”
Mrs Cardinale, who works as a therapist, and her singer-songwriter husband have had to seek help for “symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD”, the legal action explains. Adam B Wolf, a lawyer representing the Cardinales, said the second family also plans to sue the IVF clinic but wants to remain anonymous.
