Patients misled by genetic-testing companies and discarded healthy IVF embryos, lawsuit claims
Two New Jersey genetic-testing companies are being sued by IVF patients who claim they were misled about the health of embryos and discarded them, according to lawsuits.
Several patients have filed class action lawsuits against Genomic Prediction and CooperGenomics over the companies’ claims about a genetic test, known as PGT-A, and its ability to reduce the likelihood of miscarriages for IVF patients.
The suits allege the companies “marketed PGT-A using claims about accuracy, effectiveness, and improved IVF outcomes that were not adequately supported by scientific research and clinical validation,” attorney Allison Freeman told The Independent.
PGT-A can help screen embryos for extra or missing chromosomes, according to Mount Sinai Fertility. The procedure is rarely covered by insurance and can cost thousands of dollars.
Hundreds of thousands of women undergo IVF each year, and in 2024, more than 100,000 babies were born through IVF, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
Maureen Ewing, a plaintiff in the suit against Genomic Prediction, told NJ.com that after she underwent IVF, she destroyed some of her embryos based on PGT-A testing, which appeared to show they were abnormal.
“It’s crushing to think of what could have happened,” she told the outlet.
The complaint against Genomic Prediction, filed last month, alleges the company has “known for years that their PGT-A tests are not 98-99% accurate and have a lower false positive rate and false negative rate.”
“Defendants have acted to mislead customers with their false and deceptive marketing and advertising statements, and material omissions, in exchange for the opportunity to reap millions of dollars in profit each year from selling PGT-A tests,” the complaint states.
The complaint against CooperGenomics, filed in 2024, similarly alleges the company has “known for years that PGT-A testing is significantly less than 97% accurate.”
Freeman told The Independent that some patients allege that embryos they discarded after receiving abnormal test results “may have been viable.”
She added: “Some plaintiffs do allege that decisions about their embryos, including whether to transfer embryos, were influenced by those representation. However, the core of the claims is not limited to embryo disposition.”
“Rather, the lawsuits focus more broadly on alleged false and misleading marketing to sell the test, which resulted in financial and decision-making impacts on patients undergoing IVF,” she said.
Freeman described the experience as “heartbreaking” for many patients.
