Second Australian IVF mix-up shakes clinic and industry

One of Australia's top IVF providers mistakenly implanted a patient with her own embryo instead of her partner's in a second fertility clinic mix-up, heightening concerns about an industry that did not have much active government oversight until recently.

Monash IVF said the error took place on June 5 at a clinic in Melbourne but did not provide further details such as how it learnt of the bungle or what the couple planned to do next. The company said it was supporting the couple, who it did not identify. It said the patient's embryo was mistakenly implanted under a treatment plan which called for an embryo from the patient's partner to be transferred.

The incident builds on a reputational maelstrom for Monash IVF, which was reeling from an April disclosure that an Australian woman had given birth to a stranger's baby after a fertility doctor accidentally implanted the wrong embryo in Brisbane in 2023. That mix-up sparked concerns about security protocols at IVF clinics and an industry which is in the process of being more regulated.

Monash claimed the world's first IVF pregnancy five decades ago and is Australia's second-largest IVF provider, carrying out nearly a quarter of the country's 100,000 assisted reproductive cycles a year, according to industry data.

"The mix-up, the second reported incident at Monash IVF, risks shaking confidence not only in one provider but across the entire fertility sector," said Hilary Bowman-Smart, a researcher and bioethicist at the University of South Australia.

Shares of Monash IVF were down 25% by midsession on Tuesday, against a rising broader market. The stock is just over half its value before the April announcement.

"We thought the Brisbane clinic embryo transfer error was an isolated incident," Craig Wong-Pan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a client note. "We believe there is risk of a greater impact of reputational damage and market share losses to MVF's operations."

Monash IVF hired a lawyer to run an independent investigation after the Brisbane incident, and said on Tuesday it has extended the scope of the investigation. It said it was installing interim extra verification safeguards to ensure patient confidence.

It said it had reported the Melbourne incident to state regulator the Victorian department of health and industry licencing body the reproductive technology accreditation committee, part of industry group the Fertility Society of Australia.

Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the department was investigating the company and the incident.

"Families should have confidence the treatment they are receiving is done to the highest standard," she said. "It is clear Monash IVF has failed to deliver that, which is completely unacceptable."

Fertility Society president Petra Wale said the incident would have had an emotional toll on the family but stressed mistakes in the sector were rare. The society reiterated a call to implement nationally consistent laws around IVF.

The country's IVF industry is regulated by a combination of industry bodies and state and territory health departments, resulting in a governance and compliance system that some groups say is too complex.

Reports of transferring a wrong embryo are rare, according to fertility experts, and Monash's Brisbane mix-up was widely reported as the first known case of its kind.

Reuters