Error in incubator cleaning process destroys embryos

A lab worker accidentally destroyed embryos at a fertility clinic in California, leading patients to sue. 

The employee at Ovation Fertility in Newport Beach cleaned an incubator with hydrogen peroxide instead of a sterile solution. This error was discovered when the clinic investigated why their January rates of successful implantation were unusually low.  Two couples who had IVF at the clinic are suing for negligence, fraud, and medical battery, claiming that the embryos were nonviable prior to being transferred and that they had no chance of becoming pregnant.

'Some of the victims lost all their remaining embryos' said Adam Wolf, a lawyer representing the affected patients. 'To them, this is not about lost time, money and physical pain. Ovation robbed them of the chance to have biologically related children. To make matters worse, this disaster was completely preventable.'

An Ovation statement read: 'Ovation Fertility has protocols in place to protect the health and integrity of every embryo under our care. This was an isolated incident that impacted a very small number of patients, and we have been in close contact with those patients since this issue was discovered.'

Wolf's firm specialises in fertility clinic misconduct issues and has been calling for more regulation over the industry. He argues that by having more strict oversight of US fertility clinics, there will be fewer cases like this: 'As IVF continues to grow across the country, we need to have meaningful regulation over this $27 billion industry,' he said. 'There is no doubt that a lack of oversight in the IVF industry contributed to this tragedy.'

The two couples have chosen to remain anonymous, and are seeking jury trials and an unspecified amount for damages. In a previous case handled by Wolf, five patients were awarded $15 million USD after a tank storing frozen eggs and embryos failed (see BioNews 1099).