Kristina Koedderich and her ex husband Drew Wasilewski file suits against NJ fertility clinic, IRMS after their daughter developed Asian features in botched IVF impregnation.
A white New Jersey couple who had a daughter through IVF have launched a lawsuit against a fertility clinic after their baby developed ‘Asian features’ — with a DNA test proving the husband was not the father.
Kristina Koedderich and Drew Wasilewski, who are now divorced, went to the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science (IRMS) at Saint Barnabas in 2012 and spent $500,000 for treatment, according to the court papers filed in Essex County Superior Court.
Their daughter was born in 2013 and ‘a couple years later, they noticed the baby started having Asian features,’ the couple’s attorney David Mazie of Mazie, Slater, Katz & Freeman, told via the nypost.
A DNA test in 2015 confirmed that there was ‘0% probability’ that Drew, 49, was his daughter’s biological father, according to the suit.
The clinic’s negligence caused ‘the breakdown of the marriage between Kristina and Drew Wasilewski,’ according to suits filed individually by the former husband and wife.
In his deposition, Wasilewski shared that he was ‘devastated’ by the news. His ex-wife recalled him crying in her deposition.
‘He was crying,’ Koedderich said in her deposition, according to NJ.com. ‘I was crying. And I called [IRMS] the next day and asked how — could this be possible? Could this really be possible?’
NJ fertility clinic ordered to release names of workers at time of mishap
Superior Court Judge Keith Lynott last month ordered the clinic to hand over a list of men who donated sperm around the same time the couple used the facility — in the hopes of narrowing down the identity of the girl’s biological father.
The order also demanded that IRMS release the names of those working at facility at the time of the mishap.
It specifically asks to note who was supervising lab technician, defendant Melissa Bell, when she processed the man’s sperm sample.
The parents say they want to know whose sperm was used so they can learn about their now-6-year-old daughter’s genetic history — and in case she wants to have a relationship with her biological dad in the future.
‘They love her very much, but it’s a very sensitive and very stressful situation for them,’ Mazie told the nypost.
They also want to know if Drew’s semen was used for someone else’s IVF treatment.
The couple is seeking unspecified monetary damages, saying the clinic’s mistake caused ‘great pain, suffering, permanent injuries and disabilities, as well as the loss of enjoyment of the quality of life.’
Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science spokesman Ronn Torossian said the clinic is ‘thoroughly examining the alleged incident.’
‘The integrity of our treatment processes are paramount and we are taking this matter very seriously,‘ Torossian told the nypost.
The recent court order has ‘broad implications potentially affecting many more people than the immediate parties involved,’ he added.
The amount the couple paid for their IVF was probably closer to 10 percent of the half-a-million they are claiming, the clinic said.
