LOS ANGELES — Nadya Suleman’s fertility doctor implanted a dozen embryos in the pregnancy that gave her octuplets, a state attorney said Monday, a number that another doctor said was unheard of and that surpasses Suleman’s assertion that only six embryos were implanted.
Dr. Michael Kamrava’s action endangered the mother and violated national standards of care, Deputy Attorney General Judith Alvarado said at the Medical Board of California’s hearing to consider revoking or suspending the Beverly Hills physician’s license.
Kamrava “knew that a 12-embryo transfer was unsafe,” Alvarado said in her opening statement. National guidelines issued by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine specify no more than two embryos are to be used in in-vitro treatments for a healthy woman under 35.
The board has set aside two weeks for the hearing to determine whether Kamrava was negligent.
High-order multiple births can result in long-term developmental delays, cerebral palsy and various life-threatening ailments.
Fertility specialists have criticized Kamrava’s methods, saying he endangered Suleman’s health and the long-term health of the babies.
Suleman’s babies, born nine weeks premature in January 2009, are the world’s longest-surviving set of octuplets.
