In-vitro fertilization has changed the game for couples with fertility struggles in recent decades. The IVF process, although physically and emotionally grueling for some, has provided many families with the child of their dreams.
One couple found their happy ending when they found the right fertility doctor for them. In 1991, Jeanine and John "Mike" Harvey were trying to conceive but struggling. The Ohio couple began to look into fertility doctors and found Dr. Nicholas Spirtos and Summa Health System. They believed it was their miracle, and after a matter of months, their daughter Jessica was born.
Fast-forward to 2021, and Jessica's desire to look into her family history via Ancestry.com led to an unbelievable discovery. The website was able to determine that Jessica and Mike shared no genetic bonds. Another DNA test would reveal that she was not biologically related to him, leading Jeanine and Mike to wonder how this mix-up occurred and whose sperm was combined with Jeanine's egg to create their daughter.
Jeanine and Mike shared their unusual story during a virtual press conference with their attorneys at the law firm of Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise.
"About 30 years ago my husband and I went to see a fertility doctor for help seeking a baby," she shared.
"Our goal couldn’t have been clearer. We wanted a child who is genetically related to both of us. I underwent the in vitro fertilization with the understanding that Mike's genetic materials would be used in this procedure. Without our knowledge, Dr. Spirtos used a stranger's sperm."
"For us, and for countless unsuspecting families out there, it took just one Christmas gift – a home DNA test kit – to change our lives forever. It revealed a trauma that I never could have imagined," Jeanine continued.
"It's taken every ounce of my power to remain strong for myself and my family as we try to move forward."
Ancestry's wide database of users did allow Jessica to connect with the man who is her biological father. After speaking with him, he and his wife confirmed to Jessica that they were patients of Dr. Spirtos at the same time as Jeanine and Mike. The man, who has not been identified publicly, agreed to a paternity test, which confirmed that he was Jessica's biological father.
"Leading up to Christmas in 2020, my husband and I were planning a trip to Europe. How cool – we thought – would it be to learn if we had family in the countries we'd be visiting," Jessica shared of the experience.
"Maybe we could connect with our distant relatives. My parents got us Ancestry.com kits as Christmas gifts, and since then, our lives have never been the same – and never will be."
Dr. Nicholas J. Spirtos, who was serving as the chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and In Vitro Fertilization/Embryo Transfer at Summa Akron City Hospital (now Summa Health System), is still affiliated with the medical group. He has yet, however, to provide any answers to the family.
Mike also released a statement sharing his heartbreak at these revelations. "As a husband and a father, it's extremely difficult to watch your family in pain. And the source of the pain is something that I'll never be able to change," he shared.
"Learning that your entire reality isn't what you believed it to be is hard to explain. It's like waking up in someone else's life.”
Sadly, this is not altogether an uncommon occurrence, as the family's attorneys explain.
"This is why we often characterize the current state of regulation over the assisted reproductive technology industry as the 'wild west'. Meaningful oversight is absent; error reporting is essentially non-existent; and tragic cases of lost, destroyed, or otherwise improperly handled embryos are on the rise," Adam Wolf noted.
"After several decades and thousands of fertility misconduct cases, we are still in the 'wild west' era. How many more people will have to share their heartbreaking stories before our legislators take this problem seriously?"
