Sheffield fertility clinic affected by faulty liquid

It's been confirmed faulty liquid - used for freezing eggs and embryos - has affected two clinics in the UK.

The fertility regulator says the issue's limited to Guy's Hospital in central London, and Jessop Fertility in Sheffield.

Anyone likely to have been affected will have been notified already - including 136 patients at Guy's.

Medical negligence lawyers said women across England and Wales have been in touch with concerns that they have also been affected.

Statement from the Human Fertlisation and Embryology Authority

The fertility regulator confirmed that it is investigating the incident.

Rachel Cutting, Director of Compliance and Information at the HFEA, said:

“The HFEA can confirm that this issue is limited to two clinics in the UK: Guys’ and St Thomas’ Assisted Conception Unit, London and Jessop Fertility, Sheffield.

“Our ongoing investigation only relates to Guys’ as we are satisfied that Jessop’s undertook a thorough investigation when they first became aware of the issue and contacted and supported any patient affected.

“The company supplying the product directly to clinics will know exactly where it’s gone through their traceability processes. The company is also obliged to report any problems to the MHRA.

“Any patients likely to have been affected will have been notified by their clinic. We hope this provides reassurance to anyone concerned.

“We share Field Safety Notices as required and every clinic is expected to act on the information provided. It is a legal requirement for clinics to report any incident to the HFEA in accordance with our clinical governance procedures, and in line with our Code of Practice.

“Fertility treatment in the UK is generally very safe, our most recent report shows that out of the almost 100,000 treatment and storage cycles which took place in 2022/23, more than 99% were conducted without any incidents occurring.

Embryos are routinely frozen after IVF cycles - either to delay treatment for medical reasons or to give couples the option of more treatments in the future.

Some women choose to freeze eggs for fertility preservation so they can have families later in life while others may do so before undergoing medical treatment for conditions such as cancer.

“Any patients likely to have been affected will have been notified by their clinic"

Dr Jennifer Hill, Medical Director, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said:

“We began a thorough patient review as soon as the product recall notice was issued. We have robust tracing processes in our laboratories and so we were able to identify that there were 29 people who had eggs or embryos frozen in the period (August 2022) when we used the particular product batch. We can confirm that 28 of those did not have the faulty fluid used to freeze their eggs or embryos. The remaining person was contacted at the time and did not require further actions to be taken.”

Some women have already contacted lawyers

Catherine Slattery, a specialist group actions medical negligence lawyer at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: "This is a very worrying incident which could potentially have devastating consequences for women, especially those who have had to go through the physical and psychological impact of cancer treatment.

"We've been contacted by a number of women possibly affected and are looking into their concerns further. Some women are based in London and received treatment at Guy's Hospital, while others are based elsewhere in England and Wales.

"It's vital that women receive the care and support they may need to get through this difficult time while this incident is investigated further.

"If any failings are identified during the HFEA and MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) investigations, it's vital that lessons are learned to prevent issues like this arising in the future."

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