They spent months carefully charting their course for the arrival of their bundle of joy. They made extraordinary sacrifices to make their dreams come true. Fast forward one year and a couple had their dreams of parenthood shattered. An egregious error was made from which there is no recovery. Their choice of an out-of-state facility that services couples in California and other states was, in hindsight, a mistake.
They thought they made the right choice
Prior to selecting their fertility clinic of choice, they meticulously weighed their options. They settled on a clinic in Colorado Springs. Although they live in Washington state, they made the hundreds-mile long trek to get the job done. The laborious process involved injections, an egg-retrieval surgery and a battery of tests. Though such fertility treatments cost thousands of dollars, their biggest expense would be the emotional price tag this experience exacted upon them. It destroyed their faith in what they believed would be an error-free process.
At the outset, things went as planned. Then, disaster. They feel that what should have been a standard protocol of care was omitted, and that negligence led to the demise of seven viable embryos. Due to that alleged negligence by fertility clinic employees, their hopes literally dried up.
Finding hope somewhere else
Despite the emotional toll this has taken on the couple, they have not ruled out a second try at in vitro fertilization (IVF). For now, however, they are suing the clinic. Through their lawsuit, they hope that their experience will result in systemic changes in the IVF industry. Had the proper checks and balances been instituted like they thought, they would have been further along on their parental journey.
What occurred at the clinic wasn’t even on the couple’s radar, as they only embraced the positive outcome. They had heard of IVF disasters, yet it never occurred as a possibility to them. To date, though, the clinic has not provided an official statement on this matter. However, a doctor there allegedly stated that the clinic is at fault for the desecration of the embryos. The matter is in the hands of the couples’ attorneys and is pending in the court.
