Frozen embryos from 31 patients were mistakenly destroyed at the University of Washington Medical Center, according to an article on the KIRO 7 website.
The destruction happened in 2014. The mistake was not known publicly until one of the couples filed a complaint for damages.
According to the lawsuit, a written agreement specified the couple would relinquish all control of their frozen embryos "if they have not remained in contact with the IVF program for a period of three years." The female patient reportedly had contact with the UWMC in June of 2012.
Two years later, UWMC discarded and/or destroyed the embryos, according to the lawsuit.