A momentous case has just come out against Monash IVF in Brisbane, Queensland. One woman unknowingly delivered a stranger’s baby due to embryo mix-up. The clinic attributes the error to lapse in human judgment. This brings us to questions about their processes and accountability for dealing with sensitive reproductive technologies.
In a joint class action, Monash IVF was able to broker a settlement that returned A$56 million (£26.8 million) to its 700 former patients. This settlement came about largely on the basis of the destruction of embryos after the result of incorrect genetic testing. The recent embryo mix-up has only increased criticism of the clinic’s practices and its management of patient embryos.
That mistake happened when Monash IVF implanted the wrong embryo from another patient into the woman. Staff knew of the issue by February and within hours of identifying the breach, engaged their crisis management team. The highly respected Monash IVF has initiated an independent investigation to find out how this terrible blunder happened. They are hard at work making sure that never occurs again.
The birth parents impacted have filed suit seeking to be able to move their remaining frozen embryos to another clinic. They want to push ahead in spite of the horrifying state of affairs. In light of the specific incident, Monash IVF have said they are confident that the incident was individual and does not indicate systemic concerns in their practice.
In response to the disaster, Monash IVF has begun the process of consulting affected patients, apologising to them and moving forward with their care. They reported the events and fielded an enormous contest from Australia’s regular funding overseers, including the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee. They voluntarily self-reported to the new Queensland assisted reproductive technology regulator.
“On behalf of Monash IVF, I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened,” – Michael Knaap
At Monash IVF we understand our patients want, and deserve, to be dealt with candidly. During this time, they are diligently consulting with patients impacted by this troubling episode. The organization stands by the idea that it should be solving your problems. They’ll do everything in their power to ensure it never happens again.
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