“My life turned upside down”: IVF mix-up sees mum looking for her real baby
A woman has shared the shocking story that resulted in her giving birth to someone else’s baby.
Olga Alyokhina, from Chelyabinsk in Russia, loves the son she gave birth to but wants to find out if her biological baby was born to another woman.
The 33-year-old suspects the biological parents of her son, two-year-old Denis, may be raising her child and has shared the story in an effort to find the woman she met at an IVF clinic who she believes may have been mistakenly given her fertilised egg.
The state-run Chelyabinsk Regional Perinatal Centre, where Olga underwent the procedure, has paid Olga £29,500 ($NZD 58,872) in compensation for the mix-up.
“The day I went in for the extraction of biomaterial, I met a woman in the same ward,” she said.
“We exchanged a few words but I just cannot remember her name.”
She said she and the unnamed woman both had 10 eggs extracted.
“We met again at the ‘insemination’, sharing the same ward … I have not seen her since.”
The IVF treatment was successful, with Olga giving birth in November 2018.
However, before leaving the hospital the new parents were shocked to discover their son’s blood type was A.
“My blood type is B, my husband has O. Our son cannot have such a blood type,” she said.
“My life turned upside down. I was in a deep state of shock and panic.”
The doctors conducted new blood tests and a DNA test, with the results arriving three months later.
“We were told neither of us were the biological parents of our son.”
Following the revelation, the hospital suggested she leave the baby with an orphanage and abandon looking for her biological son.
“What were they talking about? Denis is not a piece of dried bread in a bakery shop that I don’t want to take,” she said.
“I accepted my son. He is our child.
“Please try to understand me - he is our boy. My husband supported me 100 percent.”
Though the hospital paid the parents compensation, no apology was issued.
The parents’ request to know the name of the other woman in Olga’s ward, or any other IVF mother who may have been implanted with her egg, was refused by the hospital for medical secrecy reasons.
“The hospital never apologised,” she said.
“Their representative behaved so arrogantly.
“They looked at us as beggars who came to ask a favour. No regret, no sympathy.”
In the pursuit to find their biological child, the couple hopes to establish contact with the family.
“If we find them - we would love to establish normal contacts. We could potentially relocate to where they live. Or they would relocate close to us,” she said.
“I think there is no chance we will swap the kids back.
“I would never give up on Denis. I breastfed him. He is our long-awaited child.
“His biological parents could have Denis for holidays if they felt like it. I just want to establish a relationship with them.
“They have a right to know they have a son,” she said.
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