British Womans Last IVF Embryo Given to Wrong Woman

British mum's embryo given to wrong woman, then aborted

AN IVF clinic has admitted giving a couple's last embryo to the wrong woman, who then had the baby aborted.

The UK clinic failed to follow its own procedures and has acknowledged the blunder was "extremely upsetting" for everyone involved.

But the woman who should have received the embryo has told how the mistake left her and her husband "shaking with shock and bursting with anger".

She said: "I kept thinking, 'They’ve killed our baby! Killed our baby!'

"The hospital offered us private counselling on the spot, but we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Even our worst fears didn’t prepare us for the devastating news that our embryo had actually been placed in another woman, and that it had to be taken out and destroyed for 'medical reasons'."

Britain's Mail on Sunday reports the woman and her husband had a son in 2003 after treatment at IVF Wales Clinic, part of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust.

In 2007 they were advised one of their embryos was still viable and decided to try for another child.

But when they were arrived for their appointment they were initially told there had been an accident in the lab and the embryo had been destroyed. Later it emerged a trainee doctor had failed to carry out sufficient checks and the embryo had been implanted in another woman.

Ian Lane of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust told The Sun: "We apologise unreservedly for this mistake. This was a rare but extremely upsetting incident for everyone involved and we take full responsibility for the distress caused to both couples and their families.

"Immediately after the event, we carried out an internal investigation to find out exactly how it happened, and how we can prevent it from happening again. We also notified the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority), who carried out their own external investigation.

"As a result of both of these investigations, we have made a number of improvements to our systems and checks, in line with the recommendations made in the reports."

http://www.news.com.au

I can't even imagine how heart breaking that must be for the couple of lost their child. IVF is such an expensive and lengthy process for it to be bungled in that way, is just negligence on the part of the clinic.

Schmiggens MKII wrote:

"As a result of both of these investigations, we have made a number of improvements to our systems and checks, in line with the recommendations made in the reports."

That's all well and good, but it doesn't help this couple.

I'd sue.