A couple from Norfolk, Virginia has become the first to publicly identify themselves by name in one of the latest growing number of lawsuits against medical supply company CooperSurgical over claims the company made and sold a solution used in in vitro fertilization which resulted in the deaths of embryos.
The lawsuit is one of five now pending in San Francisco federal court, with more pending elsewhere in other federal courts and California superior courts. All other cases, however, were filed under only initials, to protect their anonymity.
They are represented in the action by attorneys Sarah R. London, Tiseme G. Zegeye and Hannah R. Lazarz, of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, of San Francisco and Nashville, Tennessee.
According to the complaint, the Waldens' fertility struggles began over a decade ago. After two unsuccessful rounds of intrauterine insemination, they started saving up for IVF treatments.
In 2023, they began IVF treatment. According to the complaint, eight eggs were retrieved during a procedure in November 2023. However, they later learned none of their fertilized eggs survived the incubation period to develop into healthy blastocysts.
According to the complaint, they learned months later the embryos' end may have been caused by CooperSurgical's embryo culture media, a solution used during IVF treatment. The lawsuit alleges that CooperSurgical manufactured, marketed, promoted, distributed, and sold defective media that was intended for use in IVF procedures.
In recent weeks, lawsuits have begun to amass in various courts against CooperSurgical, all leveling similar claims about the destruction of embryos allegedly caused by the IVF fluid.
According to published reports, CooperSurgical issued a recall on the fluid, before the lawsuits were filed.
In a statement issued following the initial lawsuits, the company said the recall was issued "to proactively address any possible issue with our products while we continue to investigate."
In a statement released by Lieff Cabraser, the Waldens said they had chosen to filed suit under their real name, rather than seek to keep their identity obscured, to "raise awareness" and ensure "companies like CooperSurgical don’t get away with these horrific lapses in safety."