'DEVASTATING FOR ALL'
Woman gives birth to a ‘stranger’s baby’ after IVF clinic admits embryo mix-up
Fertility scandals that have rocked the UK - and everything you need to know about IVF
A WOMAN has given birth to someone else's baby after an IVF clinic mixed up embryos.
The mum had another woman's embryo accidentally implanted in her at Monash IVF in Brisbane, Queensland.
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The fertility provider - who operates clinics across Australia - issued an apology to its patients, blaming the mix-up on human error.
The error was first picked up in February this year, after the couple who gave birth to the baby requested that their remaining embryos be transferred to another IVF provider.
“Instead of finding the expected number of embryos, an additional embryo remained in storage for the birth parents,” the company said in a statement.
Monash IVF conducted an investigation, which confirmed an embryo from another patient entirely had been incorrectly thawed and implanted into the woman, who eventually gave birth to a baby.
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The birth parents were told about the incident within a week of it being discovered.
Monash IVF's chief executive, Michael Knaap, apologised for the bungle, saying: “All of us at Monash IVF are devastated and we apologise to everyone involved.
“We have undertaken additional audits and we’re confident that this is an isolated incident.”
The company has also reported the mistake to the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee the Queensland assisted reproductive technology regulator.
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Out of respect for their privacy, the patients involved have not been named.
Nor has the clinic responded to questions about when the baby was born, or who has custody of the child.
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Dr Hilary Bowman-Smart, a bioethicist and research fellow at the University of South Australia, said: "This situation is devastating for everyone involved.
"Both sets of parents will be experiencing significant psychological distress – and not only because of questions around parentage.
"Experiencing infertility and going through IVF can be very tough emotionally and physically in and of itself, as well as expensive - even when things go well.
"One set of parents has lost an embryo, and one set of parents received an embryo that wasn’t theirs. Both sets of parents have experienced an incredible loss.
UK fertility scandals
Last year, two fertility clinics admitted to egg-freezing errors, which left dozens of parents unable to have children.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London said a "labelling error" in the egg-freezing process resulted in a number of eggs being damaged.
A total of 136 women who had their eggs or embryos frozen at Guy's and St Thomas' in September and October 2022 were given the heartbreaking news that they may be impacted.
Jessop Fertility clinic in Sheffield experienced a similar fault in 2023.
After a probe at Jessop's, it was found 29 women could have been impacted by the fault, but just one was.
In March 2024, Homerton Fertility Clinic also said errors occurred during the freezing process of embryos had resulted in "a small number of embryos" not surviving or becoming "undetectable".
The reported at the time that as many as 150 embryos could have been affected in incidents involving up to 45 patients.
What is embryo freezing?
Embryo freezing is a method of preserving fertilised eggs so they can be used at a later date.
The process involves removing eggs from the ovaries, fertilising them with sperm from a partner or donor to create embryos.
Once they have been given a week to grow, the embryos are frozen.
The embryos are stored in liquid nitrogen under carefully controlled conditions and are thawed when a woman is ready to have a baby.
Unfertilised eggs and sperm can also be frozen.
Women who are at risk of becoming prematurely infertile include those having cancer treatment or going through early menopause.
"We should also recognise for the woman who has given birth, this is not a stranger’s baby – she has been pregnant with this child, she gave birth to this child, and raised this child for several months as her own."
Experts have stressed that it's very rare for a mistake like this to occur - both in Australia and on a global scale.
Associate professor Alex Polyakov, a consultant obstetrician, gynaecologist and fertility specialist at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, noted: "The probability of such an event occurring is so low that it defies statistical quantification."
Dr Fab Horta, a women's health specialist at UNSW Sydney and City Fertility in Sydney: "It’s hard to comprehend how such an unimaginable error could occur - particularly in a field where witnessing checks, double-verification, and traceability systems have long been standard practice.
"In an age where technology plays such a key role in safeguarding every step of the IVF process, this incident is simply unfathomable.
"Most of us enter this profession with a profound sense of purpose and responsibility. This incident shakes the very foundation of the trust placed in us."
She added: "It is a tragic and sobering reminder that even in highly regulated and technologically supported systems, humans are still part of the chain.
"We must now focus on understanding what happened, supporting those affected, and ensuring it never happens again."
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Monash IVF last year reached a A$56m (£26.8m) settlement with more than 700 former patients for allegedly destroying embryos after inaccurate genetic testing.
The class action claimed about 35 per cent of the embryos found to be abnormal through the fertility provider’s flawed genetic testing were actually normal.
What you need to know about fertility and IVF
More than eight in 10 couples will get pregnant within a year if they're having regular unprotected sex.
For others, however, it may take longer.
It's a good idea to see a GP if you have not conceived after a year of trying.
Women aged 36 and over, and anyone who's already aware they may have fertility problems, should see their GP sooner, the NHS advises.
They can check for common causes of fertility problems and suggest treatments that could help.
Infertility is usually only diagnosed when a couple have not managed to conceive after a year of trying.
There are two types of infertility:
- Primary infertility – where someone who's never conceived a child in the past has difficulty conceiving
- Secondary infertility – where someone has had one or more pregnancies in the past, but is having difficulty conceiving again
Treatments for infertility include medical treatments to make ovulation more regular, surgical procedures such as treatment for endometriosis, repair of the fallopian tubes, or removal of scarring within the womb, as well as assisted conception such as IVF.
What is IVF?
During vitro fertilisation (IVF), an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory.
The fertilised egg, called an embryo, is then returned to the woman's womb to grow and develop.
It can be carried out using your eggs and your partner's sperm, or eggs and sperm from donors.
Who can have IVF?
The recommend that IVF should be offered to women under the age of 43 who have been trying to get pregnant through regular unprotected sex for two years.
It's also available to women who've had 12 cycles of artificial insemination, with at least six f these cycles using a method called intrauterine insemination (IUI).
What are the chances of success?
Younger women are more likely to have a successful pregnancy through IVF.
It isn't usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low.
In 2019, the percentage of IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was:
- 32 per cent for women under 35
- 25 per cent for women aged 35 to 37
- 19 per cent for women aged 38 to 39
- 11 per cent for women aged 40 to 42
- 5 per cent for women aged 43 to 44
- 4 per cent for women aged over 44
Source: NHS
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