An Ohio couple received devastating news after finding out one of their children is fathered by a stranger after taking a DNA test gifted to them for Christmas.
The couple is former fertility patients and is making arrangements to sue Summa Health System, as well as one of their active physicians for allegedly inseminating the woman with a stranger’s sperm. This act has been labeled a “botched procedure”, according to attorneys.
“The couple thought they had undergone an intrauterine insemination procedure using the husband’s own genetic material, as was promised,” attorneys said. “These cases highlight the largely unregulated nature of the U.S. assisted reproductive technology industry. While a handful of states have enacted new laws to protect patients, there is no comprehensive federal oversight of the industry. U.S. nail salons are subject to far tighter state and federal controls,” Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise Law Firm told Newsweek.
A doctor named Nicholas Spirtos is the focus of the lawsuit and his attorneys stated that he was the chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and in Vitro Fertilization/Embryo Transfer at Summa Health System’s-Akron Campus. Despite allegations, Summa Health’s website states that Dr. Spirtos is currently accepting appointments.
Summa Health’s corporate communications system director Mike Bernstein provided a statement to Newsweek saying “We are aware of an allegation that has been made claiming in 19991 a patient was artificially inseminated with the semen from a person who is not her husband. We take this allegation seriously and understand the impact this has on the family. At this point, we have not met with the family or conducted testing of our own. Given the very limited information that we have and the amount of time that has passed, it remains our hope that the attorneys representing the family will work with us to make that next step a priority.”
