Kolkata couple sues IVF centre for not revealing daughter's biological parents' identity, blames it for her death

The couple blamed the IVF centre Institute of Human Reproduction for their 4-year-old daughter's death as they did not disclose the donors' details to the couple, which was necessary for her bone marrow transplant.

Rahul and Gunjan Kothari became parents in 2019 through IVF.

In 2021, their daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia, and it was then they came to know that the daughter's DNA did not match theirs.

The child was born through a donor embryo transfer, a process in which an embryo created from a donor egg and sperm is transplanted into the recipient's uterus for pregnancy.

The couple said they were not told all these and had not given any consent for the same.

However, the IVF centre contended that they sought approval from the wife before carrying out the procedure.

When the girl required a bone marrow transplant from her biological parents, the couple approached the IVF facility, which disclosed the identity of the mother but refrained from giving the father's details.

The couple filed a complaint at Karaya police station alleging that Gunjan's signature on the consent form was forged.

They even approached the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC), which, on Jan 22, held that the IVF centre was liable for not taking signatures from both parents as set by the 2005 guidelines.

The Commission directed the facility to pay a compensation of Rs. 5 lakhs as not taking the father's signature was a gross irregularity.

In their petition, the parents said the litigation was never initiated for the imposition of a penalty.

They also sought the cancellation of the licence of the facility. The parents have demanded to know the number of IVF procedures conducted by the centre.

The matter will be heard in the court of Justice Amrita Sinha on Friday.