CooperSurgical IVF Solution Lawsuits

Plaintiffs are filing lawsuits against fertility technology company CooperSurgical, Inc., over its embryo culture solution sent to in vitro fertilization, or IVF, clinics nationwide. CooperSurgical, Inc. issued a voluntary recall of certain lots of its IVF solution in December, 2023. According to The New York Times, at least eight couples had filed lawsuits by February 2024 and, according to other sources, more than 100 cases had been filed by April.

As of December 2024, CooperSurgical IVF solution lawsuits are in the initial stages. There have been no trials scheduled or settlements offered. Currently, these are individual lawsuits and have not been consolidated into federal multidistrict litigation, or MDL.

Because a single bottle of embryo solution can be used for multiple IVF patients, lawyers expect many more cases to be filed. Embryologist Mitchel C. Schiewe told the NYT an estimated 20,000 patients could be affected by the recalled solution.

People are filing IVF solution lawsuits against CooperSurgical because plaintiffs claim the company’s solution for growing embryos during IVF caused embryos to die instead of continuing to develop. This caused serious heartache and financial loss for couples who were hoping to grow their families.

“It makes me want to cry for these couples. Because the emotional stress that you’re already under just trying to have a baby and what you are putting your body through is a lot. Then this product is out there and potentially killing those embryos and the potential of that life being made,” fertility treatment patient Holly Bower told Drugwatch.

Plaintiffs are suing for financial as well as emotional damages, such as pain and suffering. IVF is not a simple process and involves the surgical extraction of human eggs. It involves injections that can be painful, ultrasound procedures and other treatments. Risks include ovarian hyperstimulation and complications from the egg retrieval procedure. It’s also very expensive.

If you underwent an IVF procedure in which CooperSurgical embryonic growing solution was used and your embryos were damaged, tainted or died, you may qualify to file a lawsuit.

According to the latest data from the Department of Health and Human Services from 2021, more than 86,000 infants born that year were conceived using assisted reproductive technology (ART). IVF represents more than 99% of these ART procedures.

First Couple Sues CooperSurgical

Plaintiffs A.B. and C.D. were the first couple to file a lawsuit against CooperSurgical over recalled IVF solution. That suit was filed in December 2023 in the Superior Court for the State of California County of Los Angeles.

The couple lost 34 fertilized eggs, according to their complaint. Because of the highly irregular result, the fertility clinic’s lab technician reached out to other labs that also reported unexplained embryo deaths. All the labs used CooperSurgical’s embryo culture media.

It was only after the embryologists sent a formal letter to CooperSurgical, that the company issued recall letters to clinics in late 2023. The plaintiffs later learned that the solution that killed their embryos was a part of the recalled lots.

In December 2023, CooperSurgical began sending out urgent recall notices to IVF clinics for three lots of its embryo culture media. The FDA posted the recall on its site in February 2024.

“The firm has become aware of a sudden increase in complaints for three associated lots. Performance issues may lead to impaired embryo development before the blastocyst stage,” CooperSurgical said in the recall notice published as a Class 2 recall by the FDA.

The exact cause of the embryo deaths is not yet known, but the company says it is investigating. CooperSurgical reported that they sold 994 bottles of the recalled solution worldwide. Of those, they sold 481 bottles of the recalled solution in the U.S.