A couple in Australia has reached a settlement with their in vitro fertilization clinic for failing to spot that the woman was a carrier for fragile X syndrome, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Leighee and Philip Eastbury sued Genea, formerly known as Sydney IVF, when they learned that Leighee Eastbury was a carrier for fragile X syndrome and that both their boys had the condition, the paper adds. It notes that Leighee Eastbury sought testing for fragile X as she had an affected relative, and that her results were negative.
"I was devastated, absolutely devastated, it was something I had a test for ... you base all your family planning and everything off that test," says Leighee Eastbury, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Eastburys' attorney argued that test the clinic ordered was the wrong one, the paper adds. The lawyer said that a molecular DNA test should have been performed rather than a chromosomal one. Genea's lawyers, meanwhile, countered that the Eastburys' general practitioner should have checked that the correct test was performed and that the company performed the testing as requested, the Sydney Morning Herald adds.
The Eastburys are "ecstatic" with the outcome of the case, ABC News adds.