We filed a complaint with the Arizona Medical Board, but the doctor was not held accountable. There was no feedback from them or any transparency. We could not respond.
We used an anonymous egg donor who had 2 healthy children of her own and donated 3 times before us to other couples resulting in healthy pregnancies. We used a gestational carrier who had 2 healthy kids of her own. The egg donor was provided by our IVF doctor and the gestational carrier was found through an agency in phoenix that the doctor works with. He was responsible for all medical care to both the donor and gestational carrier. He was responsible for their screening.
Our daughter was born with Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele. Our IVF doctor did not PREP, PRESCRIBE or VERIFY (see below) which he confirmed to me in a phone conversation. He said she should get folic acid from her diet. He ended the phone conversation stating there was another child with SB and the child turned out fine (for me not to worry). No accountability, no change.
The Gestational Carrier stated in front of other OBs after leaving his practice (she was released from his care at 10 weeks) that he never prescribed. In addition, I have a text from her stating this. She lost 10% of her body weight while under his care (she said due to fertility meds which I found out later at the midwife appt after she left his care). Multiple persons in the medical field have told us that this should not have happened that he was negligent (but won't stand with us).
In our daughter’s case, Spina Bifida was completely avoidable with the right amount of folic acid before and during a planned pregnancy. Our daughter’s condition was the result of lack of standard of care. He is in this business and he is the professional. He should have:
1. Prepped and Prescribed Prenatals for the Egg Donor and Gestational Carrier. Prescribe approved prenatals including additional Folic Acid at least 2 months before any procedures. The IVF doctor who enlists these donors should be responsible for their care starting at least 2 months before any procedure. (reference: mayo clinic spina bifida prevention)
2. Verify. Measure Folic acid absorption levels or folic acid deficiency via blood work. (1) Check the homocysteine levels. If a person carries the MTHFR mutation and the mutation is active, homocysteine levels would be elevated. (2) Measure the vitamin deficiencies such as D, B12, folate, etc. If any issue is found, the procedure should be stopped.
He never did any PREP, PRESCRIBE or VERIFY. In today's day and age, with the current body of knowledge on folic acid and testing available, this should never have happened. His sole concern was getting the SART/CDC statistic towards counting as a pregnancy which he achieved. This was a planned pregnancy and he is the professional. That the AZ Medical Board did not hold him accountable is disgusting. Our child has to live with this condition for the rest of her life.
All USA
We filed a complaint with the Arizona Medical Board, but the doctor was not held accountable. There was no feedback from them or any transparency. We could not respond. We used an anonymous egg donor who had 2 healthy children of her own and donated 3 times before us to other couples resulting in healthy pregnancies. We used a gestational carrier who had 2 healthy kids of her own. The egg donor was provided by our IVF doctor and the gestational carrier was found through an agency in phoenix that the doctor works with. He was responsible for all medical care to both the donor and gestational carrier. He was responsible for their screening. Our daughter was born with Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele. Our IVF doctor did not PREP, PRESCRIBE or VERIFY (see below) which he confirmed to me in a phone conversation. He said she should get folic acid from her diet. He ended the phone conversation stating there was another child with SB and the child turned out fine (for me not to worry). No accountability, no change. The Gestational Carrier stated in front of other OBs after leaving his practice (she was released from his care at 10 weeks) that he never prescribed. In addition, I have a text from her stating this. She lost 10% of her body weight while under his care (she said due to fertility meds which I found out later at the midwife appt after she left his care). Multiple persons in the medical field have told us that this should not have happened that he was negligent (but won't stand with us). In our daughter’s case, Spina Bifida was completely avoidable with the right amount of folic acid before and during a planned pregnancy. Our daughter’s condition was the result of lack of standard of care. He is in this business and he is the professional. He should have: 1. Prepped and Prescribed Prenatals for the Egg Donor and Gestational Carrier. Prescribe approved prenatals including additional Folic Acid at least 2 months before any procedures. The IVF doctor who enlists these donors should be responsible for their care starting at least 2 months before any procedure. (reference: mayo clinic spina bifida prevention) 2. Verify. Measure Folic acid absorption levels or folic acid deficiency via blood work. (1) Check the homocysteine levels. If a person carries the MTHFR mutation and the mutation is active, homocysteine levels would be elevated. (2) Measure the vitamin deficiencies such as D, B12, folate, etc. If any issue is found, the procedure should be stopped. He never did any PREP, PRESCRIBE or VERIFY. In today's day and age, with the current body of knowledge on folic acid and testing available, this should never have happened. His sole concern was getting the SART/CDC statistic towards counting as a pregnancy which he achieved. This was a planned pregnancy and he is the professional. That the AZ Medical Board did not hold him accountable is disgusting. Our child has to live with this condition for the rest of her life.