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Woman Aborts Other Mum’s Last Embryo in Horrific Mixup : 24th Jun 09
A UK mother desperate to have a second child has told how she lost her last IVF embryo when technicians implanted the child into the wrong woman. When the second woman discovered that the embryo was not hers, she had an abortion. Details of the tragedy raise fresh questions about how IVF businesses are regulated.
In the past, The Sunday Times has revealed that women undergoing fertility procedures have had their eggs fertilised with the wrong sperm. Deborah, the woman who lost her chance of another baby, is so traumatised by the error that she’s reluctant to risk a further IVF procedure to have a longed-for sibling for her son, Jamie, 6. Because she’s 40, her prospects of having another child with her boyfriend, Paul, 38, are slim and diminishing.
Deborah, who doesn’t want to disclose her surname, said, “I will never forget the moment the hospital broke the news to us. Initially, the hospital told me there had been an accident in the lab and that the embryo had been damaged. I thought that someone had, perhaps, dropped the embryo dish. I remember thinking: ‘That’s our last hope gone—we will never have another child.’
I left the hospital feeling totally shell-shocked. When we went back to the hospital two days later and we were told the truth about my embryo being given to someone else, I was so angry”.
Deborah, a healthcare worker, and Paul, who have been together for 17 years, went on the NHS waiting list for fertility procedures in 1996. After two failed attempts, Jamie was born in 2003. Three of the couple’s remaining embryos were frozen.
In December 2007 these were thawed—only one survived this process—and they intended to have this one embryo implanted. The causes of the tragedy remained secret till the couple asked lawyers to obtain reports of the incident.
Documents acquired by their solicitor, Guy Forster of Irwin Mitchell, showed that, the previous year, there had been “near misses” because of problems in monitoring the “ownership” of embryos. These were reported to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), but Forster says it let parents down by failing to make sure the centre sorted out the problems: “We are concerned that the HFEA missed opportunities to take action in relation to IVF Wales before this incident occurred.
A report by HFEA investigators shows that the error occurred primarily due to failures of laboratory staff and theatre staff to carry out basic procedures.” The Times. June 14.
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