LOS ANGELES, June 2 (UPI) -- The California Medical Board says it will revoke the license of the Beverly Hills fertility doctor who helped "Octomom" Nadya Suleman conceive eight children.
A six-person panel of the board ruled Dr. Michael Kamrava "did not exercise sound judgment" when he performed the embryo transfer in July 2008 on Suleman, a single mother of six existing children, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
American Society of Reproductive Medicine guidelines say doctors should not normally implant more than two embryos in women under age 35, and no more than five embryos in women over 40. Suleman was 33 when she gave birth to the octuplets.
Revoking a physician's license is uncommon in California. In the last fiscal year, the medical board revoked just nine for gross negligence, defined as the "want of even scant care or an extreme departure from the ordinary standard of conduct."
Unless Kamrava can successfully appeal his license revocation through the California court system, the revocation will mark the end of his medical career in the state, the Times reported.
Dr. Arthur Wisot, a fertility specialist in Redondo Beach, said the license revocation may discourage doctors who might be tempted to implant more than the recommended number of embryos.
"That's a good outcome," he said.
