Naples: A baby girl born from another couple's embryo is being sought from the local health authority for €540.

Naples – An eagerly awaited pregnancy, a birth, the joy of the arrival of a second daughter. Then came doubt, born from a seemingly simple but impossible-to-ignore fact: the newborn's blood type was not compatible with her parents'.

From that moment on, for a Neapolitan couple, the process of assisted fertilization became a legal matter that is still ongoing.

Angela, 36, and Marco, 41, had turned to the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the San Paolo Hospital in Naples to have a second child. It wasn't their first experience there: through the same assisted reproductive technology, they had had their first child, born on September 23, 2024.

This time, however, something went wrong.

On June 3, 2025, a baby girl was born. Subsequent genetic testing established that the child was not biologically the couple's daughter. DNA testing thus confirmed the suspicion that had arisen after the discovery of her blood type.

The embryo of another couple

The reconstruction that emerged from the investigations led to the identification of the critical point in the medically assisted procreation procedure: an embryo belonging to another couple was allegedly transferred to the woman.
This is where the story takes on its most delicate aspect. The parents spoke of embryo swapping, asking a question that remains one of the most painful aspects of the story: what happened to their frozen embryos?

The couple had, in fact, stored other embryos obtained through assisted reproduction at the center. This led to concerns that one or more of those biological materials may have been used for another patient.

On this point, however, the Naples 1 Center Local Health Authority (ASL) takes a different stance. The health authority clarified last August that there had been no reciprocal embryo exchange: according to the ASL's reconstruction, an error had been made in the implantation procedure, with the embryo from another couple being transferred to the woman, while the embryos from the couple who reported the case were not implanted in the other woman.

The complaint and the investigation by the Prosecutor's Office

After the discovery, the couple decided to take legal action. The complaint was filed in July 2025, and the Naples Prosecutor's Office opened a file on the case.

The investigation was also entrusted to the Carabinieri NAS (National Anti-Mafia Unit), called to verify what happened inside the San Paolo medically assisted reproduction center. The investigation, according to what has emerged, is proceeding based on the hypothesis of negligent injury.

Meanwhile, checks were carried out on the structure and management of the procedures. A subsequent inspection by the ministry and the National Transplant Center revealed critical issues in the management of data and records relating to assisted reproduction procedures.

The case also involved other couples who had undergone treatment at the same center. In August, three additional families contacted the same lawyer to inquire about the fate of their frozen biological material.

The question remains: who are the biological parents?

There is another element that makes the matter particularly complex.
The baby girl born in June 2025 is biologically the daughter of another couple. However, the identity of her biological parents has not been made public. The investigation therefore had to focus on identifying the couple to whom the mistakenly transferred embryo belonged.

According to what emerged last summer, numerous couples were treated at the center during the same period. The investigations were used to reconstruct the embryo's origin and the chain of procedures performed at the facility.

For Angela and Marco, meanwhile, the issue isn't just about the genetic certainty of motherhood and fatherhood. The child the woman carried, gave birth to, and is now being raised by the couple is now part of their lives.

"The little girl will be our daughter."

In interviews given after the complaint, the father explained that he loves the child and wants to continue raising her, while also asking for full clarity on the mistake.
The crux of the matter remains the biological truth and the fate of the couple's embryos. A question that, according to the parents, has haunted the family for months and is also a central aspect of their legal action.

The story, therefore, doesn't end with the discovery of the incorrect embryo. On one side, there's the prosecutor's investigation and the investigations into the procedures followed at the center; on the other, the couple's questions and those of other families who have requested information about their embryos.

Now the request for compensation of 540 thousand euros

The final chapter came with the formal notice and formal notice served via certified email to the ASL Napoli 1 Centro and the health management of the San Paolo hospital.

Attorney Francesco Petruzzi, who represents Angela and Marco, has filed a claim for compensation of €540, plus legal fees and any future psychological damage to the eldest child.

The request was also accompanied by a report from the party's consultant, Dr. Luca Scognamiglio, which identified several items of damages that, according to the couple, were the result of the procedural error.

These include permanent biological damage of a psychological nature, damage resulting from the violation of procreative self-determination, so-called "unwanted birth," damage related to the compromise of one's own embryos, damage resulting from genetic ignorance, and reflected damage that would have affected the firstborn.

The sum of 540 euros, therefore, represents, within the framework of the document, the economic quantification of a matter that the family considers far broader than a single technical error: it concerns procreation, genetic identity, certainty about the fate of the embryos, and the psychological consequences the parents claim to have suffered.

What remains to be seen are the developments of the criminal investigation and the eventual outcome of the compensation claim. These two separate proceedings, however, will inevitably intersect on the same question: how, during a medically assisted procreation procedure, an embryo belonging to another couple could be transferred to a woman.