An Ohio woman who was pregnant with the child of another couple after a mix-up at an IVF clinic has handed the baby over to his biological parents. Carolyn Savage and her husband already had two older children and an 18-month-old IVF daughter, but they wanted to use the last of their embryos for another child. A clinic in Toledo mistakenly transferred an embryo belonging to Paul and Shannon Morell of Michigan.

Normally such cases end in lawsuits, recriminations and even abortions. However, Ms Savage agreed to hand the child over to his parents.

It was a difficult decision. After she discovered the truth, she said, "I don't think I've ever cried so much in my life. It was such a nightmare and, in a way, I felt violated." However, she and her husband felt that the right thing to do was to hand the baby over. "This was someone else's child,” she said the day before giving birth. “We didn't know who it was, we didn't know if they didn't have children or if this was their last chance for a child. We knew if our child was out there, we'd go to the ends of the earth to get our child back.”

The Savages still want a fourth child and say that they may resort to using a surrogate mother.

For some reason, the identity of the clinic has not been revealed. Its lawyer told the media: "This has never happened to this medical practice before, and they are working day and night so that it will never happen again." ~ London Telegraph, Sept 26