Second IVF bungle admitted by major Australian clinic
Rachel Mealey: It seems an unlikely place to admit to a mistake like this, but because Monash IVF is a listed company, it made the announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange. The statement said it had mistakenly implanted the wrong embryo in a patient. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas says the mistake is unacceptable.
Mary-Anne Thomas: So it appears that Monash IVF, which is a private fertility service here in Victoria, has not followed the treatment plan that was agreed with a couple that are receiving treatment from them. Now this is completely unacceptable.
Rachel Mealey: Today's admission comes just two months after Monash IVF said it was responsible for a Brisbane woman giving birth to a baby who was genetically unrelated to her. In the latest incident, a patient's own embryo had been implanted instead of one created from her partner's egg. Mary-Anne Thomas says the Victorian Health Regulator will begin an immediate investigation.
Mary-Anne Thomas: This will be quite devastating for the couple at the heart of this. I mean, we all know that the IVF journey can be a very long, torturous one. It can be very expensive as well. And to not be respected, not have your treatment plan followed, I can't even really imagine how that couple are feeling right now. But I want them to know that my thoughts are with them.
Rachel Mealey: The Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has also flagged more regulation of the IVF sector and says he's put the topic on the agenda for this week's Health Ministers' Meeting. Associate Professor Alex Polyakov is the Medical Director of Genea Fertility and a fertility specialist from the University of Melbourne.
Alex Polyakov: I do know that all the labs in Victoria and in Australia in general would have very similar protocols for these things. There are two embryologists identifying all biological samples when they're transferred. We check with the patient when the embryo is about to be transferred. And so I still feel that the system, while it may appear to be broken, actually works very well. But unfortunately those two incidents came to light in a very short period of time.
Rachel Mealey: He says the latest incident involves a same-sex couple who've both generated embryos, and that's added a layer of complexity to the case.
Alex Polyakov: What I can understand from the media release from Monash is that they both had IVF and created embryos from both sets of eggs. And the embryos usually belong to a couple. And so then they express the preference for a particular embryo to be transferred to one of the partners. And that instruction may not have gotten through unaltered from the doctor to the lab or from the lab to the patient. And so the couple received their own embryo. It just wasn't from an egg that they specified.
Rachel Mealey: Sarah Jefford is a fertility law expert. She says systems need to be reviewed to reassure anyone currently going through IVF.
Sarah Jefford: I think the clinic and all fertility clinics really need to be concerned about making sure that their treatment is accurate. We're really playing with people's lives here and not just the patients themselves but any person born. And that there's not really a lot of room for error. I know that all clinics have their protocols for making sure they're using the right eggs and sperm and embryos. But when mistakes like this happen, they have lifelong consequences for everyone involved.
Rachel Mealey: She says there's room for a national regulator within the sector.
Sarah Jefford: At a national level, we don't actually have consistent laws around fertility treatment. Every state and territory has their own laws. And there is no national regulator in that respect. We do have the National Health and Medical Research Council which distributes ethical guidelines. But we also generally allow for clinics to manage their own protocols and treatment standards. We don't have anything at the national level that really regulates them.
Samantha Donovan: That's fertility law expert Sarah Jefford. That report from Rachel Mealey.
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