University Of Utah Investigating Sperm Swap Claim
ByThe University of Utah is looking into claims that a woman in Salt Lake City area clinic was artificially inseminated with sperm, not from her husband, but from a convicted felon who was a part-time lab employee 20 years ago, Reuters reported.
The university released a statement saying that since April 2013 they have been investigating "credible information" regarding the possible mislabeling or tampering of semen samples at Reproductive Medical Technologies, a private andrology lab that was owned by a faculty member, now deceased.
School officials said relevant records from the now-defuntfertility center no longer exists.
"There are no remaining records from RMTI to prove the claim and the man in question has been deceased since 1999. Consequently, it is unknown how this incident might have happened. In addition, there is no evidence to indicate this situation extends beyond the case in question," the university said in a statement.
Through genetic testing, a woman who received artificial insemination in 1991 discovered the biological father of her child was not her husband, as she had assumed. The unidentified woman traced the genetics of her child to a man and convicted felon who was a former employee of a now-defunct medical lab
"We understand this information has been upsetting for the family and other clients of RMTI," the university said in a statement.
The university said there is no evidence to indicate that other couples were affected.
The university is offering free paternity tests for RMTI clients who were treated between 1988 through 1991 to "help alleviate this distress."