IVF mix-up nightmare as mother and father swap infants after elevating incorrect youngster for months

A couple were left reeling after an alleged IVF mix-up resulted in them raising the wrong baby.

However, they have found a silver lining, striking a heartwarming agreement with the other parents involved. Daphna Cardinale, 43, and her hubby Alexander were “devastated” when they discovered the child they had been lovingly raising wasn’t biologically theirs, and their second daughter had been born to another family. The pair welcomed a little girl into the world in September 2019, but were immediately suspicious due to the baby’s darker skin tone.

Initially, the Los Angeles couple brushed their doubts aside, trusting in the IVF process and falling head over heels for their new arrival.

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However, two months post-birth, they decided to conduct at-home DNA tests, leading to the shocking revelation that they had been raising another couple’s child.

In a twist of fate, they teamed up with the other couple affected by the mix-up and made the decision to swap the girls, starting anew with their biological daughters – despite missing out on their births and first few months.

Alexander shared: “There’s no person to give you advice. So we ended up just sort of huddling together, the four of us, and it’s a blessing that we all are on the same page. We’ve spent every holiday together since then. We’ve spent every birthday together since then – and we’ve just kind of blended the families.”

Despite the switch, the families wanted to keep in contact as the girls went to the same pre-school together and both joined ballet classes so they could spend time with each other, reports the Mirror. The mix-up has prompted the family to take legal action against the IVF clinic responsible for the alleged error.

Mrs Cardinale expressed her family’s profound “heartbreak and confusion can’t be understated”, stating she was “robbed of the ability to carry my own child”.

The lawsuit details how the couple turned to the California Center for Reproductive Health (CCRH) and In VitroTech Labs for assistance in summer 2018. It is claimed In VitroTech Labs mistakenly implanted the embryos into the incorrect women.

The legal document states: “Daphna was surgically implanted – against her will or knowledge – with the sperm and egg of a man and woman who were complete strangers to her.”

It continues: “Meanwhile, Daphna and Alexander’s embryo was transferred to that same couple, Couple Two, a few weeks after Daphna’s transfer procedure. Couple Two carried to term and gave birth to a baby girl – Alexander and Daphna’s biological child – and raised her for months before Defendants’ mistakes were uncovered and proven.”

The legal papers reveal that when Mrs Cardinale gave birth to a baby that was not hers, her hubby suspected something wasn’t quite right. The claim details: “He expected to see a fair child, much like their older daughter. Instead, their Birth Daughter came out with much darker skin and jet-black hair. It was so jarring that Alexander actually took several steps away from the birthing table, backing up against the wall.”

The paperwork notes that even the couple’s mates and relatives started grilling them about the baby’s looks. This caused a major “disconnect” as Mr Cardinale fretted that his wife was in denial.

He was so gutted about it all that he spent nights “staring at their newborn child, wondering if she was truly theirs”, according to the suit. The document goes on to say: “After learning this, Daphna insisted they take the DNA test, expecting that the results would put everyone’s mind at ease.”

After a few rounds of DNA testing, the Cardinales finally learned the truth and on December 26, 2019, contacted the couple who’d been bringing up their biological baby.

Their meeting at a solicitor’s office was described as “terribly uncomfortable”, the legal papers detail. On New Year’s Eve, the families convened with their children, marking the moment they laid eyes on their genetic offspring for the first time.

The day after the Cardinales broke the news to their elder daughter who was “crushed and terrified of losing her birth sister”, pleading with her folks not to swap the kiddies.

Roughly a fortnight passed before the parents took the harrowing step to exchange their offspring, a move that’s left the family reeling. The court case declares: “The horror of this situation cannot be understated.”

Mrs Cardinale, a therapist by trade, alongside her musician hubby, have sought professional support to help them grapple with “symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD” as spelled out in the lawsuit.

Adam B Wolf, a lawyer representing the Cardinales, stated the other family implicated is gearing up to drag the IVF clinic to court too, albeit under wraps.