New Zealand fertility clinic admits family's embryos have 'gone missing'

International·By Bridget Sielicki

A fertility clinic in Auckland, New Zealand, is currently under fire after reportedly misplacing a family's embryos.

Key Takeaways:

Fertility Associates in Auckland, New Zealand, has announced that embryos from one of its patients have gone missing.
The clinic said the incident involved one patient, that an investigation confirmed there are no additional missing embryos, and that the embryos were not mistakenly implanted into anyone else.
Despite the investigation, there is no answer as to what actually happened to the embryos.

The Details:

According to the New Zealand Herald, Dr. Andrew Murray of Fertility Associates in Auckland sent an email to clients explaining the error, which he said impacted one family last year.

“Late last year we became aware that frozen embryos belonging to one of our Auckland patients had gone missing while in our care," he wrote. "Despite not having all of the definitive answers, we provided immediate transparency to the impacted family as soon as we detected the issue and have kept them regularly updated.”

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Murray went on to say that an audit confirmed that "there are no additional missing embryos" and that an “exhaustive and methodical investigation” took place to ensure that the clinic was following "best practices."

“We can confirm with absolute confidence that no embryo has been transferred to another patient,” he said.

1News further reported that a FAQ section on the clinic's website explains that embryos are stored in a "straw" and up to 10 straws are stored in a "coloured goblet," which is inside a canister. One goblet is currently missing, holding the unknown number of embryos of one patient.

Murray confirmed to news outlet RNZ that despite the investigation, the embryos have not been located.

"We fully appreciate that the lack of a conclusion and clear answers is frustrating — we share that feeling and have done everything we can to get a definitive answer," he stated.

Zoom Out:

This incident is just the latest of several jarring incidents demonstrating some of the dangers of the unregulated fertility industry.

Earlier this month, 26 couples sued a California fertility doctor over allegations that he is holding their frozen embryos hostage, while a separate lawsuit involving 23 couples says a laboratory error in a different California fertility clinic led to the destruction of countless embryos.

These are not one-off incidents. The fertility industry has experienced a series of failures, including embryo mix-ups, destroyed embryos, and doctors impregnating their own unsuspecting patients. Furthermore, IVF causes the destruction of more lives than abortion.

The Bottom Line:

The embryos caught in the crossfire of this mistake are not property or products — they are people. They are someone's children. Fertility practices which involve creating embryos lead to the widespread commodification and destruction of innocent lives.

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