Figures released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority show that more than 60 mishaps occurred in UK fertility clinics last year, although “mix-ups” with IVF treatment were said to be “rare”.
The HFEA, which licenses and regulates clinics, received 182 reports of incidents, of which eight were categorised as Grade A, including two mix-ups in which the wrong embryo or the wrong sperm or eggs had been used.
There were 54 less serious Grade B incidents, such as the loss of embryos, while administrative errors made up the majority of the 104 incidents in the Grade C category.
To put these figures into perspective, the HFEA reported that in 2007-08 almost 52,000 IVF treatment cycles were carried out.
The HFEA has come in for some criticism over its incident reporting system, which avoids naming and shaming individual clinics, making it difficult to obtain specific risk data.
Tony Rutherford, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said: “I think it would be very helpful to have accurate data so you could report accurately what the real risk is, and so we can tell our patients what the real risk is.”
No comments yet