IVF clinic investigated over possible damaged eggs

More than 100 patients who had eggs and embryos frozen at a leading clinic have been told they may have been damaged due to a fault in the freezing process.

The clinic, at Guy's Hospital in London, said it may have unwittingly used some bottles of a faulty freezing solution in September and October 2022.

But it said it did not know the liquid was defective at the time.

One patient at a second clinic, Jessop Fertility in Sheffield, has also been affected, the BBC has learned.

The fertility industry regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), said it believes the faulty batch was only distributed to those two clinics.

It is believed that many of the patients affected have subsequently had cancer treatment since having their eggs or embryos frozen, which may have left them infertile. This means they now may not be able to conceive with their own eggs.

Guy's Hospital's Assisted Conception Unit is now being investigated by the HFEA, because of a delay in informing people affected.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 14 February 2024