Laguna Hills Woman Sues Asch Over Eggs

A Laguna Hills woman filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court on Thursday, alleging that former UCI Irvine fertility doctor Ricardo H. Asch transferred several of her eggs without her consent to another woman.

Marlene Van De Walker and her husband, Grant, are seeking unspecified damages against UCI Medical Center, alleging negligence, fraud and conspiracy, among other things, according to court documents.

Asch and his two medical partners at the now-defunct Center for Reproductive Health have denied any intentional wrongdoing. They were not available for comment.

Van De Walker alleges that in November 1988, she and her husband sought fertility treatment at the center. Without her consent, seven of her eggs were transferred to another woman, her lawsuit claims; no birth resulted from the alleged transfer.

“This is clearly a misappropriation of her eggs without her consent,” said Van De Walker’s attorney Lawrence S. Eisenberg, who is handling 15 of the approximately 90 lawsuits involved with the UCI fertility scandal.

In another fertility-related case, a Laguna Beach couple filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court on Wednesday against an Anaheim fertility group and its doctor who found a suitable egg donor and then allegedly withdrew his services.

Robert and Jenny Turner contend the University Infertility Associates--a separate group from the UCI fertility center--found a suitable donor for the couple, then increased its donor fees without warning.

After the couple questioned the fee hike--nevertheless agreeing to pay it--the doctor “fired his patient,” according to the Turners’ attorney Robert M. Ungar.

Neither the doctor nor the physician group was available for comment. The couple are also seeking an unspecified amount for emotional distress.