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"They just read the rooms incorrectly," says Ben Wellings, associate professor of Politics and International Relations at Monash University.

The couple met in 2002, while both working at Monash City Council, where Mr Patterson was a civil engineer.

The mix-up at Monash IVF in Brisbane, Queensland has been blamed on human error, Australian media reports.

"On behalf of Monash IVF, I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened," CEO Michael Knaap said, adding that everyone at the fertility clinic was "devastated" at the mistake.

According to a spokesperson for Monash IVF, staff became aware of the problem in February when the birth parents asked to transfer their remaining frozen embryos to another clinic.