Doctors argue against suspension of Assuta fertility clinic

A move by the Israeli Health Ministry to stop a further Assuta clinic in Tel Aviv from accepting any new fertility patients, has come under criticism from doctors.

The Ministry made the move to place restrictions on the private hospital chain's Tel Aviv clinic in July 2023, nearly a year after it limited treatment at the Assuta fertility clinic in Rishon Lezion after an embryo mix-up scandal (see BioNews 1160). The latest set of restrictions were put in place after an inquiry by the Ministry into incidents including a baby born with no genetic link to its father following a sperm mix-up, and eggs being allowed to dry out. The frequency of events and the clinics failure to report them in a timely fashion raised 'concerns of harm to public health', the Ministry found.

Concerns have since been raised over the capacity of public hospitals in Israel to absorb work carried out by Assuta clinics, which are estimated to have carried out 40 percent of all IVF cycles in Israel. Doctors have now written a letter to the health minister stating: 'this arbitrary decision must be cancelled, as thousands of women are waiting for treatments. They cannot start them, and there is a serious fear that they will lose the possibility of conceiving.'

Restrictions imposed by the Ministry mean no more than 25 procedures, meaning egg retrievals and embryo transfers combined, are permitted per work day at the Tel Aviv clinic, and work must end no later than 11 pm. This follows an investigation in May which found an overly high workload in the IVF unit of the clinic, following a sharp increase in demand in recent years.

Doctors pointed to the previous restrictions placed on the Rishon Lezion clinic at the centre of the embryo mix-up scandal, and stated that standards had risen to those required by the Ministry following intervention. The letter went on to state that the decision to restrict activity at the clinics 'is not corrective – it is devastating, ruining the profession and the hopes of patients. The public system, which is already insufficient, has no capacity to absorb such a large number of patients.'

The Ministry launched a consultation on fertility policy in the country last month in response to issues it identified with private sector offerings during its investigation in May. Problems identified included the concentration of fertility services at just two sites in the country, as well as repeated mix-ups and quality and safety failures. One recommendation was to increase competition between private and public institutions by improving public units and offering more patient choice for those using them.

It has also recommended fertility clinics have IVF cycle numbers capped at 8000 a year.