Australia to review fertility sector after second Monash IVF mix-up

All Australian states and territories have agreed to a nationwide review to consider establishing an independent accreditation body for fertility clinics, following an embryo mix-up.

The announcement followed the revelation of two separate embryo mix-ups by Melbourne's Monash IVF within a few months. Monash IVF announced this week that it is conducting an internal investigation into a mix-up which involved a patient receiving her own embryo instead of her partner's, in breach of the agreed treatment plan. Following the announcement, Monash IVF CEO Michael Knaap resigned and Australian health ministers approved a three-month rapid review of the sector.

'These cases are just shocking, deeply distressing, and undermine confidence in the system,' federal health minister Mark Butler told ABC radio. 'As governments, we've got a responsibility to see whether there are better levels of regulation that should be put in place, and to inject some confidence back into a system that delivers such joy to so many thousands of families every year.'

Two months ago, Monash IVF disclosed that a patient in Brisbane mistakenly had another patient's embryo transferred and gave birth to a baby with no genetic link to her in 2023. Monash IVF only discovered the error in February this year (see BioNews 1285).

Following the announcement of a second similar incident, Australian state and federal health ministers met to discuss regulation of the sector. Butler voiced serious concerns about public confidence in the fertility sector, calling for greater transparency and independent oversight of fertility providers. He said health officials across the country will advise on whether Australia should introduce national rules to better regulate the sector, as regulation currently varies between states (see BioNews 1260).

'We know that in the last full year there were dozens of breaches of the code of conduct but I don't know, as the federal health minister, what they were,' said Butler. 'They are not reported, they are not disclosed.'

The review will consider whether a national accreditation body should be introduced to improve independence and transparency. Currently, clinics are accredited by the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC), part of the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).

Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas supported the immediate implementation of an independent regulator. She said: 'It simply doesn't pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provide the service.'

However, this proposal was rejected by Queensland health minister Tim Nicholls. Health ministers make decisions by consensus, meaning national changes can only happen if every minister agrees.

FSANZ expressed its support for the review of the sector. FSANZ president, Dr Petra Wale, said in a statement: 'A national approach to [Assisted Reproductive Technology] would strengthen transparency, streamline governance, and enhance patient care across the country.'

In its 'Ten-Year Fertility Roadmap', released last year, the organisation called for the RTAC to become an independent statutory authority to oversee the sector.