Widow Sues Fertility Clinic For Losing Her Late Husband’s Sperm, Possibly Giving It To Another Woman


Sarah Robertson, 41, lost her husband when she was just 29 years old. However, as her husband Aaron lay in a coma after suffering a stroke, Sarah had his sperm frozen and stored so that she may one day have his baby if his condition did not improve. Aaron would not wake from the coma but Sarah was relieved to know that one day, when the time was right, she could still bear his children thanks to the frozen sperm. Sadly, the widow has learned that her dreams of bearing Aaron’s children are no longer possible as the fertility clinic “misplaced” his sperm and isn’t sure if it was given to another patient.

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The Daily Mail reports that Sarah Robertson was devastated when she lost her husband, who was also his high school sweetheart, to a stroke in 2004. Her husband suffered from Marfan Syndrome, a genetic disorder, but had hoped that one day they could start a family when medicine advanced enough to ensure that their child would not have the devastating disorder. Unfortunately for Sarah and Aaron, that day would not come soon enough. At the age of just 29 years old, Aaron would pass away after suffering a stroke due to his medical condition. While in a coma, Sarah would take measures to ensure that she could fulfill her husband’s dream of a family by bearing his children at a future date.

Sarah paid $2,000 for the sperm procedure at the UCLA Medical Center. The sperm was then slated to be stored at Tyler Medical Clinic. Sarah paid yearly storage fees to the clinic and signed an agreement that she would continue to pay until she decided to utilize the sperm specimens. However, just two years after the sperm was extracted, the Tyler Medical Clinic was purchased by Dr. Peyman Saadat and the sperm was moved to the Reproductive Fertility Center.

With Sarah now 41 years old, she decided it was time to finally have the child that she and Aaron once dreamed of raising. Therefore, Sarah contacted the fertility clinic only to discover that the vials had been “misplaced” and could not be found. Now Sarah is suing the fertility clinic for a minimum of $750,000 for the loss of the sperm and the fact that she will now no longer be able to bear her husband’s children.

Sarah notes to KTLA that the clinic was not straightforward with her when she initially called about the vials, noting that they originally claimed that only one of six vials could be found. When Sarah requested that the single remaining vial be transferred to UCLA so that her fertility treatments could begin, Dr. Saadat allegedly attempted to persuade Sarah into using his services instead. When Sarah refused, that is when she learned that the remaining vial was not her husband’s either.

“When the embryologist went to pull the vial out of the cryo-tank, they wiped the snow away, and it was the same first name but the wrong last name.”

Sarah has now filed a lawsuit against Dr. Saadat and the Reproductive Fertility Center for a minimum of $750,000 noting that they have stripped her from the ability to potentially bear a child for her late husband. Additionally, Sarah is concerned that the sperm may have been given to someone else and that the family may unknowingly have a child with Marfan Syndrome due to the mistake.

“Sarah’s main concern – besides the fact that she has been robbed of ever having a child with Aaron – is that someone else got that sperm. Embryos were created using that tissue and those embryos were implanted into a uterus and lead to a birth, and now there is a child out there to unsuspecting parents, who could have Marfan syndrome.”

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What do you think of the widow’s $750,000 lawsuit? Should she win her case?

[Image via Shutterstock]

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