(NewsNation) — A woman is suing a Boston fertility doctor who allegedly used his own sperm to inseminate her more than 40 years ago, despite telling her he would use an anonymous donor.
Sarah Depoian and her husband sought treatment from Dr. Merle Berger, a founder of the Boston IVF fertility clinic, and were told she would be inseminated with sperm from a medical resident with physical characteristics similar to her husband.
Instead, Depoian alleges Berger used his own sperm in the procedure and said she would not have consented if she had known he would do so.
Depoian said she found out what Berger had done after her daughter, Carolyn Bester, who was born in 1981, took a DNA test and was linked to Berger’s relatives.
The case is not the first time a fertility doctor has been accused of using their own sperm to inseminate patients without the patient’s knowledge. There have also been larger ethical questions about donor conception as some donor-conceived people have learned they have hundreds of half-siblings.
Fertility treatments are becoming increasingly common as more women delay having children to focus on their careers. In response, more companies are also offering benefits that include IVF and infertility treatments.
Berger is now retired. His attorney released a statement saying the suit had “no legal or factual merit.”