Health ministers lash Monash IVF after new embryo mix up emerges

The Melbourne fertility giant — already reeling from a mix up that resulted in a woman giving birth to another person’s baby — has again implanted the wrong embryo into a patient.

Monash IVF is at the centre of another embryo mix-up, and is now under investigation by the Victorian regulator.

The fertility giant on Tuesday revealed it had transferred the wrong embryo to a patient, who was expecting to carry her same-sex partner’s baby.

State and Federal Health Ministers slammed the “unacceptable” error and demanded the findings of Monash’s own investigation be made public.

In a statement to the stock exchange, Monash IVF said the woman’s biological embryo — instead of her partner’s — was transferred in a mix-up at its Clayton laboratory on Thursday.

It comes just two months after the Herald Sun revealed a woman unwittingly gave birth to a stranger’s baby after Monash IVF implanted another couple’s embryo in a horror mix up in 2023.

Monash IVF incorrectly transferred the wrong embryo to a patient who was expecting to carry her same-sex partner’s baby.

Monash IVF, who has commissioned an “independent” review into the Brisbane mix-up, said it would expand the scope to now include the Melbourne bungle.

Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the latest incident was “completely unacceptable” and the Victorian Health Regulator had launched an investigation.

“Monash IVF are required to co-operate fully with this investigation and provide clear answers on how this happened.”

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler slammed the mix-up and announced he expected Monash IVF to release the findings of their investigation.

“We will be monitoring the progress of the review and expect the findings to be made public,” he said.

Monash IVF has previously said they would release the findings to “stakeholders” but has refused to say if this includes the public.

Mr Butler said the error “should never have happened” and “regulation of the sector” would be discussed at the meeting of the nation’s Health Ministers this Friday.

“It is incredibly distressing that this has happened to another family,” he said.

The Herald Sun’s front page when it broke the story.

Monash IVF said it had disclosed the incident to the Victorian regulator and the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee.

The RTAC is a subcommittee of industry body the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand and accredits IVF clinics. Monash IVF Group board member Dr Richard Henshaw sits on the committee.

Monash IVF said they “will implement interim additional verification processes and patient confirmation safeguards over and above normal practice and electronic witness systems, to ensure patients and clinicians have every confidence in its processes”.

“Whilst industry leading electronic witness systems have and are being rolled out across Monash IVF, there remains instances and circumstances whereby manual witnessing is required.”

Shares in Monash IVF were smashed on Tuesday, plunging 25 per cent in the first 90 minutes of trade to 56c in a wipe-out that erased about $60m in shareholder value.

Ms Thomas said the latest bungle was “completely unacceptable”. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The latest shock error comes after the Victorian government reassured the public the state regulator was checking Monash clinics had processes to prevent embryo mix-ups, and then renewed the Clayton clinic’s license.

After news broke of the Queensland mix-up, the Victorian government said the regulator had “requested information from Monash IVF about their operations and procedures to ensure they are following our strict rules and safeguards and to prevent an incident like this occurring here”.

At the time, the licenses for four of Monash IVF’s Victorian clinics, including the Clayton one, had been due to expire on April 30 but, in the weeks after, the Victorian government renewed their registrations.

Under current regulations, the government must register a clinic if it is granted a license by the industry self-regulator, RTAC.

Mark Butler says the topic will be discussed at the meeting of health ministers. Picture: Martin Ollman

Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand president Dr Petra Wale said “our thoughts with the family directly affected by this event”.

“While these incidents are deeply difficult for those affected, they are exceedingly rare and must be taken seriously, without losing sight of the overwhelming positive contributions made by the sector,” she said.

The society, the peak group for IVF providers and workers, said Australia’s fertility care system was among the “safest, most transparent and tightly regulated in the world”.

The bungle has reignited debate over the industry’s regulation.

Swinburne University Health Promotion senior lecturer Dr Evie Kendal said she “would like to see the industry regulated by an independent body”.

Shine Lawyers medical law practice leader Daniel Opare said “alarm bells must be ringing across the industry”.

“Regulators and providers clearly have work to do to ensure these mistakes stop happening,” he said.

The latest bungle occurred at Monash IVF’s Clayton laboratory. Picture: Supplied

CK Cell Technologies co-founder New South Wales Medicine Associate Professor Kuldip Sidhu said Australian embryologists should be registered under a national scheme, like they are in New Zealand.

National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Victorian councillor Associate Professor Vinay Rane said the IVF industry needed to be transparent to instil confidence and to show it can self-regulate.

“Otherwise it is only a matter of time before somebody else does it for us and that will be expensive, and that cost will ultimately be borne by our patients,” he said.

Federal Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said it was “very concerning” to hear that a second incident of this nature has occurred and her thoughts were with the affected family.

“We expect Monash IVF to complete a fulsome review into how these incidents were able to occur, and to support the parents to the fullest possible extent,” Senator Ruston said.

Originally published as Health ministers lash Monash IVF after new embryo mix up emerges