Couple files lawsuit accusing SoCal fertility clinic of throwing away their embryos

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A heartbroken couple says their hopes of starting a family has been crushed after a Southern California fertility clinic threw out their embryos.

A careless mistake may have forever cost Marissa Calhoun and Stephen Castaneda of the dream of having children together.

"Our embryos, the very ones that represented our dream of a family, had been thrown away," Calhoun said.

Since 2021, Calhoun says she has endured three painful egg retrievals.

Last October, her eggs were fertilized and then placed into an incubator to grow into 16 viable embryos.

The couple entrusted the storage of their embryos to Reproductive Partners Medical Group, or RPMG.

"RPMG eventually admitted that an employee had not labeled the embryos before placing them in the incubator and later took the unlabeled embryos out of the incubator and just threw them away," said attorney Adam Wolf, who is representing the couple.

The couple with Wolf is suing RPMG for reckless negligence, filing the lawsuit with Los Angeles County Superior Court.

"For nearly two decades my doctors told me that my chances of conceiving a child naturally were extremely low, that IVF was my best option of becoming a mother," Calhoun said.

In a statement to Eyewitness News, Reproductive Partners Medical Group called the incident "regrettable, unintentional, and isolated."

The statement goes on to say: "We can confidently assure every RPMG patient that their eggs and embryos were not in any way impacted during this isolated incident."

The couple's chance of having a biological child is likely gone, but they hope their story will help change how fertility clinic mistakes are reported.

"We think it's vitally important that the public is aware that these kinds of issues happen," Wolf said.

RPMG's full statement is below:

"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 goals."