LEEDS, UK, June 22, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An investigation into in-vitro fertilization (IVF) practices was ordered after a white UK couple gave birth to black twins following an IVF procedure from a Leeds hospital two years ago. A legal battle ensued over the true parentage of the twins, with a UK court ruling in February that the legal parent was the black biological father. A report of the findings released Tuesday, authored by Professor Brian Toft, concluded that the mixing up of sperm samples from patients was “not a new phenomenon.” Toft revealed that at least 11 other couples given IVF treatment at the Leeds General Infirmary had children whose fathers were other than the one intended.
The same Leeds clinic also inadvertently killed seven embryonic children as a result of an administration mix-up and from staff failures in checking the liquid nitrogen in embryo freezers. An IVF clinic at St James’s Hospital also killed six embryonic children against the wishes of the parents. Toft accused the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which oversees IVF clinic operations, of operating under a “culture of secrecy.”
Read the related LifeSiteNews.com reports: U.K. Sperm Mix-Up Gives White Couple Black Twins http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/jul/02070805.html Read local coverage: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3099395