Sarah Norcross, PET Director had to be up early to speak to Justin Webb on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. The news story they discussed involved patients whose frozen eggs and embryos may have been compromised due to manufacturing problem with the freezing fluid. One of the key issues was the time it had taken the patients affceted to be made aware of the issue.
The story was an exclusive in the Times newspaper and more facts emerged during the course of the day.
The UK fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, is now investigating why there were delays in informing the women who may have been affected by this at Guy's and St Thomas' Assisted Conception Unit in London.
The clinic learned in March 2023 that a manufacturing error meant some vials of freezing fluid had been mislabelled. But it was only in February 2024 that some 136 women were informed by the clinic that their frozen eggs and embryos may have been treated with the wrong freezing fluid, and therefore may not be viable.
Sarah was also interviewed by Times Radio widely and quoted in the print media calling the delay in informing patients 'appalling'. She said: 'If women affected by this incident have undergone medical treatment which has compromised their fertility, then their opportunity to have a biologically related child may have been lost.'
You can read the full news article in BioNews.
You can till listen to Sarah's interview on iPlayer at around the 1:20:05 mark.
