4 days ago
Couple ask Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls to intervene in dispute with Queensland Fertility Group
A couple who conceived three sons through invitro fertilisation (IVF) wants Queensland's health minister to intervene in their dispute with the fertility giant involved, claiming a donor sperm mix-up involved two of their boys.
Anastasia and Lexie Gunn said their two younger children were conceived using a different sperm donor to their eldest boy, even though they requested the same donor be used in all three cases.
The couple, from northern NSW, are suing Queensland Fertility Group (QFG) saying they submitted DNA test results to the company in January 2023, showing their eldest son shares no biological link to the two youngest boys.
Their boys were conceived between 2006 and 2014.
The women have written to Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls asking for his "support and advocacy" in their ongoing struggle for "truth and accountability" from QFG and its parent company Virtus Health.
In the email, seen by the ABC, they said while they were grateful for the passage of Queensland's Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act in September last year, they could not rely on it because the legislation is not retrospective.
"QFG continues to receive federal Medicare funding while facing no legal, licensing, or professional consequences for what they have done to our family," the Gunns wrote.
They have requested QFG publicly acknowledge their children's DNA does not match and want a commitment from the fertility company to stop publicly denying their involvement.
"We also believe there is a significant broader public health concern. If we received the wrong donor semen — and each donation typically produces multiple vials — then other families may also have received incorrect gametes without ever knowing," their letter read.
The two youngest boys live with connective tissue disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions.
However, the Gunns said QFG has never provided them with updated medical information for their children's biological fathers.
"The refusal to acknowledge the profound psychological harm they have caused to our children and family compounds the injury," they claim.
"Our children have had their genetic identify and affinity stolen. The erasure of that connection, and the ongoing denial of basic information about their own health and family origin, is an ethical and emotional injury that cannot be undone — but must be addressed."
Their anguish continues amidst the latest revelations of Monash IVF's two embryo mix-ups — one in 2023, the other this month.
"While recent attention has focused on the Monash IVF incidents, QFG has offered no such transparency," the Gunns claim in their letter to Mr Nicholls.
"Unlike Monash (IVF), they have not issued a public apology … or demonstrated any willingness to acknowledge wrongdoing — despite having committed similar or worse breaches."
In a statement, QFG said it could not comment on the specifics of the Gunns' case because it 'involves an ongoing civil claim'.
'We continue to work towards a resolution,' a spokesperson said.
'Today, QFG clinics use an electronic tracking and witness system – for identifying and digitally tracking eggs, sperm and embryos in the IVF lab – as well as verification by two scientists.'
On Friday, Australia's health ministers agreed to undertake a "rapid review" of the nation's assisted reproduction sector, with a view to creating an independent accreditation body for fertility providers.
Commenting after the meeting, Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said it didn't "pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provides the service".
Currently, the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC), a sub-committee of the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), issues licences to assisted reproduction providers.
RTAC is comprised of a chair appointed by the fertility society's board, members nominated by various FSANZ professional groups, and a consumer representative.
A spokeswoman for Mr Nicholls last night referred the ABC to the communique from last week's health ministers' meeting.
She said that Mr Nicholls, like all the health ministers, had agreed to a three-month review of the IVF sector.
