Monash IVF has received an independent review into unrelated cases of embryo mix-ups in Brisbane and Melbourne but the contents will remain secret.<\/p>\n
In an announcement to the ASX today, the fertility giant said the review, undertaken by barrister Fiona McLeod, would not be released publicly to protect the privacy of affected patients.<\/p>\n
“Both cases involved non-standard IVF treatments and circumstances that would not arise in the vast majority of IVF procedures,” Monash IVF said in the ASX announcement.<\/p>\n
The review concluded the Brisbane incident was the result of human error.<\/p>\n
Monash IVF mix-up could spark legal battle over child’s parentage<\/a><\/p>\n Monash IVF realised the mistake in February, after the birth parents asked to transfer their remaining frozen embryos to another provider.<\/p>\n It found the Melbourne incident resulted from a range of factors, including human error at multiple stages and IT system limitations “in the very limited circumstances of an embryo transfer to a partner”.<\/p>\n “Those limitations ultimately made subsequent processes more vulnerable to human error,” the ASX announcement said.<\/p>\n In April, revelations emerged that one of Monash IVF’s Brisbane patients had been mistakenly implanted with another woman’s embryo in 2023 and gave birth to a baby who had no genetic links to her later that year.<\/p>\n Then, in June, the fertility company apologised for a second time in as many months after a patient received her own embryo “contrary to the treatment plan which designated the transfer of an embryo of the patient’s partner”.<\/p>\n Do you know more?Contact Janelle Miles<\/a> and Kate McKenna<\/a>Fertility giant ‘deeply sorry’<\/p>\n Monash IVF told the ASX it had already implemented many of Ms McLeod’s recommendations.<\/p>\n