Father Claims 12-Year-Old Son Is Not Genetically Related Due to Fertility Treatment Error

A father has claimed that his 12-year-old son, born through fertility treatments, is not genetically related to him. The father stated in an appeal to the hospital where the fertilization took place that a recent genetic test revealed a mismatch between him and his son. The fertility treatment began at a hospital abroad and continued at a hospital in Israel, from which the sperm was transferred to another hospital in central Israel for fertilization. An investigation is now required at each hospital involved to determine where the error occurred. The Ministry of Health has been notified and is involved in the inquiry. If remaining sperm samples at the fertilization hospital match the father, the error likely happened there; if not, the mistake originated earlier in the process. This is not the first suspected error in Israeli fertility treatments. Previously, the IVF lab at Assuta Ramat HaChayal was involved in a case where a child was found to be genetically mismatched with their father due to fertilization with donor sperm. In another incident at Assuta Rishon LeZion, a baby girl named Sofia remained with her rearing parents after the Supreme Court rejected the genetic parents' request. A special report by the State Comptroller heavily criticized the Ministry of Health's oversight of IVF units.