CALIFORNIA, USA — A former University of Washington doctor has voluntarily surrendered his medical license after being accused of fertility fraud. One of these patients, in California, said the doctor used his own sperm to artificially inseminate her 15 years ago.
"I felt so secure going in there and I'm very surprised years later that I wasn't. That I was around someone with such a breach of trust," said a woman who didn't want to be identified.
She isn't the mother from California, but she went to Dr. Christopher Herndon in Seattle two years ago. She's in disbelief, "It was kind of a rollercoaster from there of understanding 'Wait, was this the person that extracted my eggs?'"
In an agreement with the Washington Medical Commission, Herndon agreed to surrender his medical license in Washington. He'll never be able to practice medicine in Washington again.
"I've just had a huge loss of trust with people that interact with me while I'm sedated," the woman said.
Two years ago at the UW, Dr. Herndon performed this Seattle patient's egg retrieval and preservation procedure.
"On the day of the extraction, I met him for a brief period of time and was in a very vulnerable state," she said.
On Sunday, UW sent her and other patients a message saying, "safeguards in place should prevent an incident such as the one alleged in California from occurring here." But to be safe, UW is offering free DNA testing to patients.
"I think that there's a scary future ahead where we don't know what has already been done or what extent it can be prevented," she said.
The UW said they have no evidence of this happening at their clinic, but patients said it's deeply concerning.
"If I do want to use my eggs in the future, I will have this thought in my mind," she said.
Herndon worked at the UW for six years and resigned in September. State documents show he's not admitting any wrongdoing.
According to the Washington Medical Commission, it received a complaint on April 14, 2023, and began investigating. It said over the phone that the California woman sent documents and records from June to August that substantiated the allegations. The Commission received multiple allegations at any given time and said this complaint was substantial.