SRI LANKA — Mr Justice Peel issued a judgment last week finding that a British couple, identified in court documents as PP and QQ, were deceived by Wish Fertility, a Sri Lanka-based surrogacy agency. The agency used donor sperm without PP's consent, resulting in the birth of twins who have no biological connection to PP, according to DNA tests conducted during an application for British citizenship.

Wish Fertility had initially confirmed in writing that the embryos were created using donor eggs and PP's sperm. However, the agency later asserted that the couple had signed a consent form allowing the use of donor sperm. PP and QQ deny signing any such consent form.

Mr Justice Peel rejected Wish Fertility's claim that distinguishing between sperm samples was impossible. The judge stated there was no evidence the couple had authorized the use of donor sperm and noted that no issues had been raised regarding the quality of PP's sperm, making donor use unnecessary. He stated it appeared likely that PP's sperm was not used at all, with two embryos transferred, resulting in non-identical twins unrelated to PP.

The Home Office received information on the negative DNA test results. British citizenship was granted to the twins in March, when they were seven months old. Following this, PP and QQ withdrew their application for a parental order and instead applied for an adoption order, which was granted.

QQ stated, "The DNA result had struck us like a thunderbolt but we wanted to protect the children and bring them home, saying they were meant for us." Mr Justice Peel determined that PP and QQ were blameless in the situation. The judge also stated that it was not clear whether the sperm mix-up was an inadvertent error or intentionally done by the agency.

PP and QQ, originally from Sri Lanka, met in the UK in 2016 and married in 2017. They underwent unsuccessful IVF treatment in the UK before traveling to India for further treatment. Twins previously born during IVF treatment in India died within a few days due to health complications. QQ was advised against attempting another pregnancy, leading the couple to travel to Sri Lanka after a family friend offered to be a surrogate. The surrogate subsequently became pregnant with twins.