The Daily Mail has reported that a fertility clinic in South Wales has accidentally destroyed a batch of 10 exceptional quality donor eggs belonging to a couple that had been trying to conceive for 7 years. The eggs had been donated by the woman's sister after previous IVF using her own eggs failed. The couple, in their mid-30's, were devastated to learn of the accident by telephone when they returned home from the clinic. All of the eggs had been stored in the same pipette, which was broken when a clinic employee knocked it against a microscope.
Simple human error? Just one of those very unlucky things? Apparently this is not a one-time incident that has cost a patient dearly. The HFEA is reportedly very concerned about the standard of care at the clinic, which also recently destroyed sperm stored by cancer patients for future use. Legal proceedings are being brought against the clinic by the couple involved, who are also calling for a rigorous investigation to prevent this happening to others. The question remains whether the HFEA, the regulatory authority for IVF and other fertility treatment in the UK, is in fact able to effect changes when there is a pattern of poor standards of care and service? Voicing concern is clearly insufficient. It would be understandable if the donor in this case is unwilling to put herself through the hormone treatment and egg retrieval process a second time as a result of this blunder, but perhaps her love and generosity of spirit will prevail. I can only hope that the couple involved finds a new fertility clinic in which they can build trust.
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