CooperSurgical IVF Solution
CooperSurgical is a global supplier of products for IVF and reproductive clinics worldwide, including the media that clinics use to develop the fertilized eggs into embryos. Prospective parents have accused CooperSurgical of failing to conduct thorough testing on their embryo culture media, and that the company’s defective product and negligent conduct destroyed irreplaceable embryos.
Case status: settled. CooperCompanies settled substantially all of the embryo culture media lawsuits in 2026, and 1-800-LAW-FIRM is no longer accepting new CooperSurgical IVF claims. We keep this page online as a record of the case. If you have questions, call (800) 529-3476.
CooperSurgical IVF Lawsuit Update (November 2026)
- Most claims have settled. In June 2026, CooperSurgical’s parent company, CooperCompanies, announced settlement agreements covering more than 95% of claimants in the embryo culture media lawsuits.
- Settlement payments were made in August 2026. In a September 2026 filing with the SEC, CooperCompanies reported that it paid $306.8 million to plaintiffs in August 2026 to settle substantially all of the claims. The individual amounts are confidential.
- There was never an MDL. In 2024, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation declined to combine these cases. They proceeded individually in several courts.
- The recall is still on record. The FDA still lists the recall of the three affected lots of global culture medium as a Class II recall.
Last updated November 6, 2026. This update is general information, not legal advice.
Lawsuits have been filed against fertility company CooperSurgical claiming that a liquid used in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process destroyed developing embryos. Plaintiffs claim that the company failed to conduct proper testing of the solution, known as embryo culture media, and that the defective product along with CooperSurgical’s negligence are to blame for their losses.
IVF has helped millions of women get pregnant or grow their families since the procedure was introduced in the 1970s. The process entails retrieving a woman’s eggs and combining it with a man’s sperm sample in a laboratory dish to become a fertilized embryo. The embryo grows in the dish submerged in a solution for several days before it is transferred to the woman’s uterus, where it then attaches to the uterine lining. In some cases, embryos need to be carefully preserved for a period of time prior to implantation.
Sadly, embryos grown in certain lots of CooperSurgical’s embryo culture media did not survive. The issue came to light after several couples undergoing IVF at the same clinic experienced similar losses.
In December 2023, CooperSurgical released an “Urgent Media Recall: Field Safety Notice” with respect to its “LifeGlobal global® Media” with Lot Numbers 231020-018741, 231020-018742, and 231020-018743. The company had received a “sudden increase in complaints” regarding the product, also citing in the announcement that “impaired embryo development prior to the blastocyst stage” was at risk.
Couples then sued CooperSurgical, starting in California, claiming that the company failed to test their embryo culture media and also failed to issue a timely recall—CooperSurgical recalled some of the product only after the destruction of irreplaceable embryos, resulting in devastation to many hopeful parents.
What is CooperSurgical Embryo Solution?
In order for an embryo to grow outside of a woman’s body, it needs key nutrients—just as it would receive inside of the uterus. Embryo culture media, like the recalled solution made by CooperSurgical, is meant to mimic the natural environment a developing embryo needs to thrive. It is composed of a salt solution with the addition of other components, such as magnesium, carbohydrates (pyruvate, lactate, and glucose), and amino acids, and it is essential that this media be sterile and created properly to promote embryonic growth.
Plaintiffs allege that CooperSurgical knew, or should have known, that their recalled embryo culture lots posed an unreasonable risk of toxicity to viable embryos, and that the company’s solution did indeed destroy their embryos—and their hopes of becoming parents.
How the CooperSurgical Lawsuits Were Resolved
By June 2026, more than 140 lawsuits involving over 1,500 claimants had been filed. CooperCompanies then reached settlement agreements covering more than 95% of claimants, and in August 2026 it paid $306.8 million to settle substantially all of the claims. Individual settlement amounts are confidential.