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15 Apr 2025 9:39
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  •   Home > News > International

    Queensland health officials monitoring Monash IVF after embryo transfer bungle

    Queensland's health minister says Monash IVF is being monitored after the wrong embryo was transferred to a patient at a Brisbane clinic.


    Queensland's health minister says Monash IVF is being monitored after the wrong embryo was transferred to a patient at its Brisbane clinic. 

    The national fertility provider discovered the mistake in February this year after the birth parents asked to transfer their remaining frozen embryos to another provider. 

    The ABC understands the baby, who has no genetic link to the woman who gave birth to them, was conceived in early 2023. 

    Monash IVF has said human error led to a different patient's embryo being implanted. 

    Asked if the Queensland Health would use its new powers as the industry regulator to send inspectors into Monash IVF, Tim Nicholls said they were watching how the company handled the fall-out.

    "We stand ready to provide whatever support we can to the families to resolve this terrible, terrible situation," he said. 

    "As the regulator in the future we will be ensuring that these organisations do everything they can to  make sure this terrible type of event doesn’t occur into the future."

    Under laws passed last September, Queensland Health has the power to inspect IVF providers.

    Before that, the industry was considered to run under a "self-regulatory regime".

    Mr Nicholls said the most "important thing" was the families and child at the centre of the error, believed to be the first of its kind in Australia. 

    "I think the resolution of some of the complexities around the situation they find themselves in is the most important thing, and particularly in relation to the wellbeing of the child," he said. 

    "I would expect Monash would be taking that into account and would be offering all the support they can to the families involved."

    The scientific director of City Fertility, Adnan Catakovic, said providers should all "be very comfortable to have an additional layer of view". 

    He said the company, which runs clinics nationally, had had calls from clients asking about their processes since learning about what had happened at Monash IVF. 

    "We had quite a few patients just wanting reassurance that the number of embryos they believe they had in the tank, is what we had listed in the tank, which is straight forward for us."

    Queensland Health to 'work with' Monash IVF

    Monash IVF has promised an independent investigation into how the bungle happened. 

    In a statement on Friday, Queensland Health said it had met with Monash IVF after it learned about the mistake and would "work with them to reinforce safeguards" at its Queensland clinics and identify and mitigate any risks. 

    Similar laws to regulate IVF were put in place in Victoria in 2008, requiring companies to tell the health regulator about mistakes — like the incorrect transfer of an embryo. 

    A Queensland Health Ombudsman investigation into assisted reproductive technology, released last year before the new laws passed, found "gaps and risks" in oversight and independence.

    The laws are not retrospective, applying only from September 10, 2024. 

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    ABC




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