A doctor who used the wrong sperm in a couple’s botched IVF op that left them with a Down’s Syndrome baby will not be prosecuted despite accusing the wife of cheating after tests revealed her husband could not be the father.

The couple had turned to IVF after years of trying to have a baby naturally.

But after the birth of their test tube baby, horrified Elena Samarina and Alexander Lysenko realised something had gone badly wrong when, despite having dozens of checks to make sure the pregnancy was going well, they discovered that the child had Down’s syndrome.

Blood and DNA tests then revealed that the baby was Elena’s daughter, but Alexander could not be her father. The young mum, who is a nurse, requested a DNA test after discovering her blood group indicated she could not be their daughter.

But in fact the test revealed that she was indeed the mother, but that her husband was not the father.

The unidentified clinic insisted the mistake could not have been made in their organisation and insisted that the wife must have cheated on her husband.

There followed a year-long struggle to bring the doctor to justice has failed after prosecutors revealed he had not broken any laws and will not face trial.

The clinic, in Stavropol, south-western Russia, has not been named in local media reports.

It was only after a series of forensic medicals performed after the couple reported the clinic to police that the truth of the bungled 2021 conception emerged.

Elena told local media: “Initially, we assumed that a complete embryo substitution had occurred.

“But when we received the results, we understood that I am the biological mother, and he is not the father.

“So, during the IVF procedure, they must have swapped the sperm samples.”

Attempts to clarify what had actually happened with the clinic’s management were stonewalled.

According to Alexander, the medical facility refused to communicate with the family, and then told him his wife must have taken a lover.

Alexander said: “They insisted that my wife did not give birth to my child and was trying to hide it.

“They all claimed in unison that a wrongly fertilised embryo was impossible in their clinic.”

He continued: “She had been diagnosed with ‘infertility of uncertain origin.’

“In simple terms, she was missing one fallopian tube. In theory, it seems like she could conceive naturally.

“That’s what they latched onto.

“However, as early as November of last year, a forensic medical examination concluded that during that period, she could not have conceived naturally and that embryo substitution had occurred in the perinatal centre.”

But last month (August) prosecutors told them the criminal case against the doctor and the clinic had been closed.

Despite evidence of the bungled procedure prosecutors claimed no crime had been committed, reports local media.

Worse, they discovered that the doctor had not even been suspended while the inquiry was ongoing.

Now the couple plan to fight again as they challenge the prosecutors who dropped the case.

Alexander said: “We will appeal this decision.

“It turns out that anyone undergoing IVF procedures is not legally protected.

“There is no guarantee that they will implant your embryo.”