The suit, filed against Acacio Fertility Center in Southern California, claims patients weren’t notified of the sudden move of their embryos 165 miles to the northwest, which they allege was also performed without proper safeguards in place.
BY RON SHINKMAN
A well-known IVF clinic in Orange County, Calif. purportedly moved all its patient embryos late last year to a new locale more than 100 miles away without appropriate safeguards or notifying patients.
That is one of many allegations made in a lawsuit filed in early March against Acacio Fertility Center in Laguna Niguel, Calif., Brian Acacio, M.D. and embryologist John Scodras.
According to the lawsuit, brought by 52 patients and their partners in Orange County Superior Court on March 3, their specimens were moved last December 17 to a satellite office operated by Acacio Fertility in Bakersfield, Calif., 165 miles to the northwest. This was done after the clinic had not paid rent on the Laguna Niguel facility for a year and was facing sudden eviction. The practice’s website states the practice has moved permanently to Bakersfield.
A lawsuit filed last December against Acacio Fertility by the owners of the physical property, Mission Medical Investors, claimed rent had not been paid by the clinic between December 2024 and November 2025. As a result, back rent of more than $243,400 was owed, court records show.
The patients’ lawsuit alleges this fiscal disorder stemmed from Acacio’s issues with substance abuse. The California Medical Board ordered Acacio to stop practicing medicine on Dec. 30, according to public records. An interim order issued last October had placed some restrictions on his ability to practice, after the board had begun an investigation into allegations Acacio had been abusing drugs.
Those events prompted the swift move of embryos to Bakersfield, according to the lawsuit filed by the patients. “Plaintiffs are informed and believe that the embryos were transported internally by clinic personnel without independent third-party oversight,” according to the lawsuit.
Eva Schenkman, an embryology lab director and consultant based in Rocky Mount, N.C., observed that transporting cryopreserved specimens carries “inherent risks” and must be handled with extreme care.
“Were these tanks locked during transport, were they tied down. What was done to minimize vibration? Were they transported in liquid or in vapors?” Schenkman asked. “Additionally, such transport may fall outside standard liability coverage, raising further concerns about accountability.”
Schenkman added that firms such as Cryoport and ReproTech are often tasked with moving embryos in order to ensure they’re properly protected during transport.
No Notice – And Notarized Releases Demanded
The move also occurred without advance written notice being sent, the lawsuit states. “No telephone calls were made advising patients of an impending transport. No emergency disclosures were issued. No consent forms were circulated beforehand. Patients were not asked for authorization to relocate their embryos to Bakersfield. Patients were not given the opportunity to select an independent, accredited, third-party cryogenic transport provider. Patients were not given a choice to move their embryos elsewhere.”
In addition to surreptitiously moving the embryos, the lawsuit accuses Acacio of requiring patients to sign a release if they wanted them moved to another practice. That included a disclaimer that the “viability of the tissue is not guaranteed” as a result of it being transported. The release required a notary’s signature in order to be accepted, the lawsuit asserts.
“Overall, this appears to be a high-risk decision made under questionable circumstances, with significant implications for both patient trust and specimen safety,” Schenkman said.
Neither Acacio or Scodras appear to have an attorney, according to court records. They did not respond to requests seeking comment.