Hong Kong authorities are investigating a human reproductive medical center after it allegedly sent the wrong embryo samples from two couples for DNA testing, the city’s health minister said.
Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau told the press on Wednesday that authorities had reported the incidents at the Heal Fertility Center to the police.
The Council for Human Reproductive Technology said on Tuesday evening that the Fertility Heal Center in Central had sent the wrong embryo samples to the Center for Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) for DNA testing.
DNA testing allows couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) to check whether their embryos have chromosomal abnormalities before they are implanted in the uterus.
Both incidents occurred in May, said William Yeung, a member of the council’s inspection committee.
In one case, six of the seven embryo specimens sent for testing did not belong to the parents. In the other case, neither of the two embryo specimens belonged to the parents.
However, the council was only made aware of the irregularities on June 17 and reported the case to the Department of Health on July 3 after multiple inspections of the clinic.
The Department of Health said the clinic had breached the Code of Practice for Private Healthcare Establishments by failing to report the incident within 24 hours of being identified.
The council said it had ordered the clinic to suspend all fertility services.
Yeung said that, according to information provided by the clinic, the incidents involved a mix-up of biopsy samples sent for laboratory testing. No actual embryos were mixed up and none were mistakenly implanted in any patient.
However, the council said it could not rule out human error or criminal elements in the incidents.
The Health Minister said on Wednesday that he considered the incidents unusual because double supervision is required for biopsy treatment in IVF procedures. In addition to the operator, a supervisor must be present on site, and specimens must be signed and confirmed by both technicians simultaneously.
Free DNA tests for babies already born
In a press RELEASE On Wednesday, Heal Fertility Center said it had already suspended all fertility treatment services and would offer counseling to the two affected couples.
He also said he had contacted all current and past patients to offer free consultations, counseling and genetic matching.
“For babies previously born through reproductive medical services at the Center, genetic
identification testing will be provided at no cost if requested,” the statement said.
The clinic said it had performed genetic re-verification on all patients who had sent biopsy specimens for DNA testing since January and no abnormalities had been found.
She did not explain why she delayed reporting the incident to the relevant authorities.
