Guide | ‘Switched at conception’ at an IVF center: ‘I began to question everything’
“I thought that chapter of my life was long over,” said 38-year-old California resident Kelli Gora. In the 1990s, she underwent IVF at a fertility center affiliated with the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Three attempts cost more than $15,000 and ended in failure and profound trauma. She was told her frozen embryos had died, accepted the devastating news, and tried to bury the experience.
Years later, an investigating attorney called. Gora’s embryos may have been transferred to an unidentified woman who traveled from South America for treatment, without Gora’s knowledge.
Her world collapsed again.
“At the time, I never imagined this could happen,” she told WebMD. “I was told those embryos had died.”
The medical scandal emerged in 1994 and involved UCI’s now-closed Center for Reproductive Health. Hundreds of patients’ frozen eggs or embryos were allegedly transferred to others without their knowledge or consent, and some physicians were accused of corruption, fraud, and unlawful drug use.
Sean Tipton, public-relations director for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), maintained that it was an isolated incident and said modern fertility centers now have comprehensive ethical and safety controls. Reproductive-law specialist Melanie R. Blum, who represented Gora and more than 120 other plaintiffs, disagreed: “I hear of similar cases almost every day—more than one case and more than one state.”
Medical miracle or reckless science?
In vitro fertilization (IVF), introduced in 1978, offered hope to couples unable to conceive because of blocked fallopian tubes, low sperm motility, or other conditions. Medication stimulates multiple ovarian follicles; eggs are retrieved under ultrasound guidance, fertilized with sperm in a laboratory, developed into embryos, and transferred to the uterus.
Before age 25, Gora had experienced two ectopic pregnancies, lost one fallopian tube, and had severe scarring in the other that impeded embryo transport. As a hospital employee, she followed medical advice and chose IVF. She was referred to Dr. Ricardo Asch, then one of the most prominent IVF specialists in the United States and later one of three physicians implicated in the case.
“He was very busy. His office was piled with books and papers, and you could see how much he had going on,” she recalled.
Asch offered her participation in a clinical trial of ovulation-induction medication at half the usual cost. After considering it for several months, she agreed.
From hope to collapse
Two stimulation cycles failed; the third succeeded, and doctors retrieved 28 eggs. Yet three transfer attempts did not result in pregnancy. Although she had been told the success rate was only 25%–35%, Gora said: “I heard it, but I did not truly believe it.”
“Everyone thinks they will be among the lucky 30%, not the 70%,” she said.
After repeated failure and physical and emotional exhaustion, she divorced her husband and carried $8,000 in credit-card debt. Each monthly bill reminded her of the broken dream.
Two years later, after paying off the debt, she destroyed all treatment records and believed she could finally leave the experience behind. But it was not over.
The truth gradually emerged
In 1994, clinic employees reported that some doctors had allegedly underreported income, imported drugs without FDA approval, and transferred frozen eggs and embryos to other patients without consent. UCI closed the clinic and sued three doctors. Asch and another physician fled abroad and never returned; the third was convicted of insurance fraud in the United States.
Gora initially wanted no further contact with anyone linked to the clinic, so her mother contacted attorney Blum. At first, they found no evidence that Gora’s embryos had been used for another patient. Years later, Blum obtained detailed documents containing embryo identification numbers.
Reviewing the records, Gora found an unfamiliar woman’s name attached to her file, along with the identification numbers of the embryos she had been told were dead.
“I now question everything, even whether they ever transferred embryos into me,” she said. “Perhaps they thought I was young and had more chances, but to me every embryo was a stolen child.”
The South American woman had a very common name, and the records contained no address or contact information. Gora no longer expected to find her or learn whether she had given birth to Gora’s child.
The law is still catching up with technology
Although the FDA regulates assisted-reproduction drugs and devices, California did not define embryo misuse as a felony until after the Irvine case. Most U.S. states still lack similar laws governing embryo ownership and use.
Blum emphasized: “I do not want the law to restrict access to treatment excessively, but it must be strong enough to prevent another Irvine case.”
Gora advised people considering IVF: “If I had heard my story then, I would have acted differently. I would not have trusted doctors so readily or handed over my embryos so easily.”
She has since remarried and draws strength from her faith.
“I believe God is ultimately in control, not those doctors,” she said quietly. “Maybe that woman needed a child more than I did. Maybe I exist to tell this story. I do not know why, but I believe everything has meaning.”
Guide | ‘Switched at conception’ at an IVF center: ‘I began to question everything’
Guide | ‘Switched at conception’ at an IVF center: ‘I began to question everything’
“I thought that chapter of my life was long over,” said 38-year-old California resident Kelli Gora. In the 1990s, she underwent IVF at a fertility center affiliated with the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Three attempts cost more than $15,000 and ended in failure and profound trauma. She was told her frozen embryos had died, accepted the devastating news, and tried to bury the experience.
Years later, an investigating attorney called. Gora’s embryos may have been transferred to an unidentified woman who traveled from South America for treatment, without Gora’s knowledge.
Her world collapsed again.
“At the time, I never imagined this could happen,” she told WebMD. “I was told those embryos had died.”
The medical scandal emerged in 1994 and involved UCI’s now-closed Center for Reproductive Health. Hundreds of patients’ frozen eggs or embryos were allegedly transferred to others without their knowledge or consent, and some physicians were accused of corruption, fraud, and unlawful drug use.
Sean Tipton, public-relations director for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), maintained that it was an isolated incident and said modern fertility centers now have comprehensive ethical and safety controls. Reproductive-law specialist Melanie R. Blum, who represented Gora and more than 120 other plaintiffs, disagreed: “I hear of similar cases almost every day—more than one case and more than one state.”
Medical miracle or reckless science?
In vitro fertilization (IVF), introduced in 1978, offered hope to couples unable to conceive because of blocked fallopian tubes, low sperm motility, or other conditions. Medication stimulates multiple ovarian follicles; eggs are retrieved under ultrasound guidance, fertilized with sperm in a laboratory, developed into embryos, and transferred to the uterus.
Before age 25, Gora had experienced two ectopic pregnancies, lost one fallopian tube, and had severe scarring in the other that impeded embryo transport. As a hospital employee, she followed medical advice and chose IVF. She was referred to Dr. Ricardo Asch, then one of the most prominent IVF specialists in the United States and later one of three physicians implicated in the case.
“He was very busy. His office was piled with books and papers, and you could see how much he had going on,” she recalled.
Asch offered her participation in a clinical trial of ovulation-induction medication at half the usual cost. After considering it for several months, she agreed.
From hope to collapse
Two stimulation cycles failed; the third succeeded, and doctors retrieved 28 eggs. Yet three transfer attempts did not result in pregnancy. Although she had been told the success rate was only 25%–35%, Gora said: “I heard it, but I did not truly believe it.”
“Everyone thinks they will be among the lucky 30%, not the 70%,” she said.
After repeated failure and physical and emotional exhaustion, she divorced her husband and carried $8,000 in credit-card debt. Each monthly bill reminded her of the broken dream.
Two years later, after paying off the debt, she destroyed all treatment records and believed she could finally leave the experience behind. But it was not over.
The truth gradually emerged
In 1994, clinic employees reported that some doctors had allegedly underreported income, imported drugs without FDA approval, and transferred frozen eggs and embryos to other patients without consent. UCI closed the clinic and sued three doctors. Asch and another physician fled abroad and never returned; the third was convicted of insurance fraud in the United States.
Gora initially wanted no further contact with anyone linked to the clinic, so her mother contacted attorney Blum. At first, they found no evidence that Gora’s embryos had been used for another patient. Years later, Blum obtained detailed documents containing embryo identification numbers.
Reviewing the records, Gora found an unfamiliar woman’s name attached to her file, along with the identification numbers of the embryos she had been told were dead.
“I now question everything, even whether they ever transferred embryos into me,” she said. “Perhaps they thought I was young and had more chances, but to me every embryo was a stolen child.”
The South American woman had a very common name, and the records contained no address or contact information. Gora no longer expected to find her or learn whether she had given birth to Gora’s child.
The law is still catching up with technology
Although the FDA regulates assisted-reproduction drugs and devices, California did not define embryo misuse as a felony until after the Irvine case. Most U.S. states still lack similar laws governing embryo ownership and use.
Blum emphasized: “I do not want the law to restrict access to treatment excessively, but it must be strong enough to prevent another Irvine case.”
Gora advised people considering IVF: “If I had heard my story then, I would have acted differently. I would not have trusted doctors so readily or handed over my embryos so easily.”
She has since remarried and draws strength from her faith.
“I believe God is ultimately in control, not those doctors,” she said quietly. “Maybe that woman needed a child more than I did. Maybe I exist to tell this story. I do not know why, but I believe everything has meaning.”
Source:
Collected online