Embryo mix-up tests point to two couples

(ANSA) - Rome, April 17 - DNA tests have made it possible to confirm that there was a mix-up of embryos at Rome's Sandro Pertini hospital during assisted-fertility treatments and identify the biological parents of twins being carried by a woman who is not their genetic mother, ANSA sources said Thursday.
    Only two couples are involved in the mix-up of embryos that led to a woman getting pregnant with twins that are not genetically hers, the head of the health authority that Rome's Sandra Pertini hospital belongs to said Thursday. "The results of the tests carried out and procedural checks on the operations during the embryo transfers exclude the involvement of other couples," said Rome ASL B authority chief Vitaliano De Salazar.
    This was later confirmed by Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin, who said the mix-up was due to "the virtual homonomy of the two patients and the insufficient quality of security and traceability procedures".
    The biological mother of twins being carried by another woman after an embryo mix-up at the fertility clinic of a Rome hospital is not pregnant herself.
    Rome prosecutors are investigating the case after the woman who is pregnant with the twins said prenatal tests had shown that she was not the genetic mother of them.
    Since news of the case broke at the weekend, the hospital has been inundated with calls from parents who are concerned that children they are expecting or have had thanks to fertility treatments may not related to them genetically.