Japan ? The Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital in Takamatsu is believed to have mistakenly implanted a woman with the in vitro-fertilized ovum of another patient in September, the prefectural government announced.

The Takamatsu woman, in her 20s, who received the egg was receiving fertility treatments at the hospital and was expecting to be implanted with her own fertilized egg.

She became pregnant as a result of the procedure and had an abortion in the ninth week of the pregnancy, so the suspected mistake cannot be confirmed.

However, the doctor who performed the procedure has apologized over the matter.

The woman filed a damages suit against the prefectural government on Feb. 10 with the Takamatsu District Court, demanding about $215,000 for mental anguish.

This would be the first instance of a woman becoming pregnant with the fertilized egg of another woman.

The physician who performed the procedure said Friday that there were imperfections in the hospital’s procedures, and admitted he had not conferred with other staffers to confirm the egg he was going to implant was the correct one.