Medical society boots doctor who did IVF in Suleman octuplets case
Fujikawa Yamamoto
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The doctor who implanted six embryos in
octuplets' mother Nadya Suleman last year has been expelled from a
fertility medical society, a spokesman for the group said.
Dr. Michael Kamrava demonstrated "a pattern of behavior that violated
the group's standards," American Society for Reproductive Medicine
spokesman Sean Tipton said.
An employee at Kamrava's Beverly Hills, California, clinic -- the West
Coast IVF Clinic -- said the doctor would not be commenting on the
expulsion.
The expulsion, which was imposed last month and just announced, does not
affect Kamrava's ability to practice, because affiliation with the
professional association is voluntary.
Suleman was 33 years old in January 2009 when she gave birth to eight
babies. She was a single woman who already had six young children
conceived through in-vitro fertilization.
The reproductive medicine society recommends no more than two embryos
for women under 35 years old and no more than five for women over 40,
for whom it is harder to get pregnant, according to guidelines published
on its Web site.
Suleman, in an interview in February on NBC, said Kamrava told her about
risks for the children, but she did not want to have only one or two
embryos implanted.
"Of course not, I wanted them all transferred," she said. "Those are my
children. And that's what was available and I used them. I took a risk.
It's a gamble. It always is."
Two of the six embryos split in utero, resulting in the birth of eight
babies.
Doctors say giving birth to extreme multiples comes with tremendous
risks for the mother and the babies. Risks for the children include
bleeding in the brain, intestinal problems, developmental delays and
lifelong learning disabilities.
Suleman's children, six boys and two girls born nine weeks premature,
all went home after an extended stay in the hospital. No indication has
been given on whether any problems have emerged.
Suleman and her children will star in a "quasi-reality TV series" about
the family, it was announced in June.