NCDRC fines hospital ₹1.5 crore for sperm sample mix-up during artificial insemination

Nearly 15 years after a woman and her husband found out that their twin children had been conceived by a semen sample that was not of the intended biological father (the husband), the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has fined a west Delhi hospital ₹1.5 crores for the error..NCDRC Presiding Member Dr. SM Kantikar passed the order earlier this month, while also expressing concern over the spurt in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics in the country meant to aid infertile couples..The Commission noted that mix ups in use of sperm donors were occurring even without the knowledge of the patient and that the mushrooming of ART clinics is leading to incorrect treatments for patients.."ART clinics are moving to donor gametes very early and also when not indicated just to increase the success rate of the clinic. ART specialist requires a correct knowledge about the physiology of ovulation as well as reproductive gynaecology. Routine gynaecologists who do not have in-depth knowledge are also opening clinics as they think there is money in it ... Moreover mushrooming of the clinics has made rampant unethical practices in our country ... One must realise that the infertility patients are stressed both emotionally as well as financially and the incorrect treatment increases this," the NCDRC order further stated. .The couple before the Commission had approached the Bhatia Global Hospital and Endosurgery Institute in 2008 at New Delhi for an Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm injection (ICSI). Following the treatment, the woman gave birth to twin girls in 2009, assuming that her husband was the biological father of the two children. However, the blood group of one of the children led to suspicions about her parentage, leading to the couple carrying out a paternity test. The paternity test revealed that the biological father of the child was someone else. This led the complainant couple to file a consumer case seeking ₹2 crore as compensation for negligence and deficiency in service. The couple highlighted that the mix-up had created emotional stress, family discord, and a fear of genetically inherited diseases etc..The NCDRC, at the outset, opined that a clear case had been made out against the hospital and that the hospital appeared to have been indulging in unfair trade practices."It was not a case of an error of judgment by the treating doctors during the ART procedure, but it sounds the unfair trade practices adopted by the OPs. They were pointing fingers to each other, and everyone wants to shirk way from responsibility and liability," the NCDRC said.ART treatments raise complex ethical, social, and legal issues including the burden and pain experienced by women undergoing it, the Commission further remarked."There is no uniform protocol specifying the sequenced application of intrauterine insemination (IUI) followed by the enrolment of the woman in in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). There is need for non-technological solutions to infertility and the regulation of medical practice. There are challenges surrounding gamete and embryo donation, the use of surrogacy and gestational carriers, the possible deleterious effects of ART, and the need for regulations and laws to govern ART reporting and social inequities," the order further explained.The Commission also remarked that it was 'pertinent' to note that the children born after the procedure were girls."It is uncertain about the quality of sperm about its genetic profile/inheritance. At this stage possibility of inherited genetic disorders is unpredictable. Therefore, in my view the complainants deserve adequate compensation ... It is pertinent to note that the delivered twins are female. Certainly, the family genealogy has been irreversibly changed. They may carry the stigma and face difficulties in future," the Commission said..The case also prompted the NCDRC to urge for more scrutiny of ART clinics. In this regard, the NCDRC has proposed that there should be a prompt and fixed timeline for accreditation of ART clinics from the authorities. Further, there is a need to make it mandatory for the ART Centres to issue the DNA profiling of babies born through ART procedures, the Commission said.A copy of the order is also to be forwarded to the National Medical Council and Union Health Ministry of Health for necessary directions to ART centres, the NCDRC directed..As regards the prayer for compensation, the NCDRC ordered as follows:The Bhatia Global Hospital and Endosurgery Institute, its chairperson and director were ordered to pay ₹1 crore to the couple. The two doctors involved in the pregnancy were directed to pay ₹10 lakhs each.Further, the hospital was directed to deposit ₹20 lakh in the Consumer Legal Aid Account of the NCDRC.."The total awarded amount of Rs. 1.30 Crore shall be kept in the Fixed Deposit (in nationalised bank) in equal proportion in the names of each twin till both attain age of majority. The parents shall be nominee and they are permitted to withdraw periodic interest for the care and welfare of the child", the NCDRC added..Advocate Chaitanya appeared for the complainant-couple.The contesting opposite parties were represented by advocates Amit Sharma, Mukesh Garg, Angad Mehta, and Manisha Singh..[Read Order]