The U is conducting a review panel to investigate the alleged misconduct of Thomas Lippert at a Utah fertility clinic.
Lippert, who died in 1999 of cirrhosis of the liver, purportedly switched his own sperm with that of clients at Reproductive Medical Technologies, Inc., a fertility clinic affiliated with the U, now defunct.
Pamela Branum reported the sperm swapping incident to the U in April 2013. Branum and her husband John had used what they considered the U’s fertility clinic to conceive their daughter beginning in 1990. On the third and final attempt of artificial insemination, Branum became pregnant with Annie, who is now 21-years-old.
Later, Branum conducted recreational DNA testing for her self, John and Annie out of a budding interest in genealogy. The results of the testing showed a zero percent match between John and Annie, which meant that John was not Annie’s biological father.
When Branum discovered the discrepancy, she consulted genetic genealogist CeCe Moore for clarification. Moore suggested that the family have Annie tested with two other genealogy databases to locate a paternal match. The Ancestry.com database discovered a connection to Lippert’s first cousin.
Lippert’s cousin explained to Branum that Lippert was an employee at the RMTI fertility clinic. Branum did not recognize the RMTI name and knew the clinic solely as the U’s fertility clinic. When she told the U of the switch-up in April, she reported being “stonewalled.” The U reported that they took immediate action.
Branum previously told The Daily Utah Chronicle that the family went public to let other couples know that if they chose a sperm donor, it is “not who they ended up getting.”
“We’re going to do it to help the other couples out there, just to let them know what’s going on,” Branum said.
Branum was concerned about how many families were afflicted because of Lippert’s unlawful actions. Lippert served two years in jail in an alleged kidnapping case in 1975. The kidnapping case is not connected to the fertility clinic incident.
The U’s panel will examine available documents from the period in which Lippert was an employee at RMTI, which, according to his widow Jean Lippert, was around 1986 to 1995, but the exact dates are still unknown.
According to the U’s press release, RMTI closed down in 1998 at the death of the company’s principal. The press release defined the relationship between RMTI and the U’s lab as an “overlap” and “difficult to piece together.” It stated the affiliation began in 1984 and ended in 1998. The labs remained legally separated but shared staff.
Christopher Nelson, assistant vice president for public affairs at the U, said the review panel consists of physicians John F. Bohnsack, Thomas L. Miller and Jeffrey R. Botkin, each of whom works within the U’s medical groups, hospitals, clinics and schools. Nelson said the physicians are not connected to RMTI, Lippert’s case or the U’s clinic.
University of Wisconsin professor R. Alta Charo, a medical ethicist, will also participate in the committee “to ensure the integrity of the process.”
The press release stated that a “small number” of patients have contacted the U with concerns in the Lippert case. They urge worried individuals to contact the U’s Andrology Lab at 801-587-5852 or via email at [email protected].
“Our patients are our primary focus, we are working with those who have raised questions and concerns,” Nelson said.
Branum and Moore hope individuals will also reach out through the website they set up titled “Was Your Child Fathered by Thomas Lippert?” The website has also received a number of inquiries from couples with possible connections to Lippert’s transgression.
The panel anticipates the review to be completed within 90 days. At that time, the U will release the information to the patients and public.
“We won’t be making any additional updates or talking on the issue,” Nelson said. “Nor will the physicians on the review panel.”
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