Marissa Calhoun and Stephen Castaneda believe that their hopes of having a biological child have been destroyed after a reputed Los Angeles fertility clinic allegedly tossed away their embryos.
The couple from Southern California is currently suing Dr. Andy Huang and Reproductive Partners Medical Group (RPMG). Calhoun told KTLA that she has gone through three excruciating egg retrieval procedures since 2021.
Last October, her eggs were fertilized and put in an incubator. She said she was horrified to hear the eggs were no longer being stored, describing it as “an immediate and overwhelming grief.”
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She lamented to KABC, “Our embryos, the very ones that represented our dream of a family, had been thrown away.”
Adam Wolf, the couple’s attorney, pointed out that the clinic acknowledged that one of their workers had failed to label Calhoun’s embryos before incubation.
“Then later took the unlabeled embryos out of the incubator and just threw them away. RMPG literally treated Marissa’s embryos like trash,” Wolf said.
Calhoun and her husband are suing RPMG for reckless negligence. During an online press conference to announce the suit against Dr. Huang and Reproductive Partners Medical Group, Castaneda described how Calhoun informed him over the phone in a panic that their embryos had been lost.
He recounted, “I never heard that much pain in her voice before. It was the pain that I could only associate with the death of a loved one. I hate the helplessness of the situation.”
He added, “Marissa and I are going through the grieving process. We are trying to come to grips with the fact that we may never have the family that we so badly wanted to have.”
The couple and their lawyer claim they were not given any proof of what transpired, but they also said that no amount of money from a settlement will make up for what they have lost.
Meanwhile, the RPMG sent out a statement saying, “We are aware of the recently filed lawsuit describing a regrettable, unintentional, and isolated incident involving one patient. We have proactively communicated with this patient since the day it occurred. We have been and continue to be committed to open, direct communication and support.”
“We can confidently assure every RPMG patient that their eggs and embryos were not in any way impacted during this isolated incident.”
“Reproductive Partners Medical Group has a long-standing reputation in Los Angeles for the highest quality standards, and we have helped to bring 25,000 babies into the world. In this circumstance, as in every other, we are committed to supporting each of our patients with empathy and compassion on their journey to achieving their desired goal,” they concluded.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, has been filed in L.A. Superior Court.
Wolf told KABC, “We think it’s vitally important that the public is aware that these kinds of issues happen.”
