Scammer
Banned
Los Angeles, California -- The California fertility doctor who implanted embryos in Nadya Suleman, resulting in the birth of octuplets last year, faces a hearing Monday on a charge he was "grossly negligent."
Suleman was 33 years old when she gave birth to eight babies in January 2009. She was a single woman who already had six young children conceived through in-vitro fertilization.
The state medical board's complaint, which could result in a revocation of Dr. Michael Kamrava's medical license, said the doctor should have referred Suleman to a mental health physician after she repeatedly returned to him for treatments shortly after each of her pregnancies.
Dr. Kamrava was expelled from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine last year for what the fertility medical society called "a pattern of behavior that violated the groups' standards."
The society recommends no more than two embryos for women under 35 years old and no more than five for women over 40 -- for whom it is harder to get pregnant, according to guidelines published on its website.
Doctors say giving birth to extreme multiples comes with tremendous risks for the mother and the babies. Risks for the children include bleeding in the brain, intestinal problems, developmental delays and lifelong learning disabilities.
Suleman's children -- six boys and two girls born nine weeks premature -- all went home after an extended stay in the hospital. No indication has been given on whether any problems have emerged.
Kamrava, an obstetrician/gynecologist in Beverly Hills, California, is accused of gross negligence and repeated negligent acts in the treatment of a patient named in the medical board complaint only by her initials, N.S.
Suleman has identified Kamrava as her doctor in interviews.
In filing the complaint in December, the medical board's executive director, Barbara Johnston, said Kamrava, while his patient was undergoing in-vitro, transferred a number of embryos that was "far in excess of [American Society for Reproductive Medicine] recommendations and beyond the reasonable judgment of any treating physician."
"[Kamrava] failed to exercise appropriate judgment and question whether there would be harm to her living children and any future offspring should she continue to conceive," the complaint said.
The state medical board hearing is set for Monday morning in downtown Los Angeles.