Lawsuit Filed After Sperm Bank Loses Man’s Deposit

In a case that hinges on the value of freezing sperm for later use, a Superior Court trial that opened this week is expected to determine whether men who use sperm banks should be compensated if the samples are lost.

The lawsuit pits Carlos and Cathy Casas against the Santa Ana-based Fertility Center of California, which acknowledges that it lost two frozen samples of Carlos’ sperm. The couple contend that the facility should pay damages because, as a result of the facility’s alleged negligence, they cannot have children.

In their complaint, the Casases said that after having two children with his first wife, Carlos Casas underwent a vasectomy in 1982. Before doing so, he stored three frozen sperm samples with the center. He later divorced his first wife.

A key factor in Cathy Casas’ decision to marry Carlos, according to the suit, was the existence of the frozen sperm and the expectation that the couple would be able to have children.

An initial attempt in 1991 to impregnate Cathy Casas with the sperm failed, and when the couple returned for a second effort, the center told them that the remaining samples could not be found.

The couple then sued, adding that Carlos Casas believed reversing the vasectomy is not an option for him. “An attempt to reverse a vasectomy which (he) had performed over nine years ago could and would expose (him) to the unknown risk and foreseeable dangers of surgery, with a strong likelihood that said surgery would not be successful,” the lawsuit claims.

Paul L. Tetreault, attorney for the Fertility Center of California, said the center acknowledges losing the sperm samples. However, in a telephone interview, he minimized the damage to the couple, citing the relatively small chance of a successful insemination from the two remaining samples.

“Like most things, the more you would store, the greater chances would be of success,” Tetreault said.

Freezing sperm has been done for more than a decade, as a precaution for men who have undergone vasectomies or debilitating therapies for life-threatening illnesses.

Under previous owners, the center’s insurers paid $450,000 in an out-of-court settlement to a woman who said she was infected with a virus, cytomegalovirus, as a result of an artificial insemination.

Testimony in the Casases’ case is scheduled to resume Monday.