East London fertility clinic has licence suspended after embryos ‘lost’

A major NHS fertility centre in east London has had its licence to operate suspended and has been reported to police over fears embryos are being destroyed, according to reports.

Homerton Fertility Centre has been ordered to suspend services on the orders of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regulator after repeated instances of embryos not survive the freezing process, it is claimed.

Intervention by the regulator comes after The Daily Telegraph reported that it raised concerns from whistleblowers with Homerton Heathcare NHS Foundation Trust’s chief executive, Louise Ashley.

It is claimed around 20 cases have been identified in which embryos did not survive the process or were not retrievable.

There are fears about which staff had access to the storage areas for eggs, sperm and embryos, the paper reported.

Peter Thompson, the chief executive of the HFEA, reportedly said the organisation had suspended the centre’s licence to operate with immediate effect because of “significant concerns about the clinic”.

On Friday Ms Ashley reportedly told staff that the police had now been contacted.

Regulators were allegedly warned 153 frozen embryos may not survive its processes and 45 patients affected.

In a letter to patients, published on the fertility centre’s website today, Ms Ashley said the HFEA has suspended its license to practice until May 2024.

She explained there has been “3 separate incidents in the last year within the centre, which have highlighted errors in a small number of our freezing processes”.

She said this has meant that “tragically” in some cases has “resulted in a small number of embryos either

not surviving or being undetectable”.

Ms Ashley said “external clinical experts” are investigating these incidents and, whilst they

have not been able to find any direct cause to explain this, the centre has “made changes in the unit to prevent reoccurrence of such incidents”.

She said the steps the centre has taken included making sure all staff work in pairs to ensure all clinical activities are checked by two healthcare professionals – re-checking all competencies of staff within the unit – and increasing security and access points in the unit.

Ms Ashley added she would like to apologise to those affected” and for the “concern” and “distress” this may cause them even if their “eggs, embryos or sperm are unaffected”.

The centre has opened a helpline for all affected fertility patients.

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One woman who recently visited the clinic told the BBC she is “distraught” after one of her stored embryos could not be found, adding “I’m emotionally mentally drained.”

Mr Thompson said: “The HFEA has suspended Homerton Fertility Centre’s licence to operate with immediate effect, due to significant concerns about the clinic.

“The HFEA Licence Committee made this decision because of the potential risk to patients, gametes and embryos if the clinic’s licence is not suspended with immediate effect.

“We appreciate this may cause concern to patients who are undergoing treatment at the clinic, or have eggs, sperm and/or embryos stored there. We do not want to disrupt patients’ treatment if they have already started medication as part of a treatment cycle, so we have made provisions to allow them to complete their treatment if they wish to do so.

“The clinic must continue to store eggs, sperm, and embryos safely. All HFEA licensed clinics can be found here and they will be able to advise patients further on transporting their eggs, sperm or embryos if they would like to do so.”

The HFEA told the BBC it was rare for this type of action to be taken and that the clinic had referred itself for investigation.

A spokesperson said: “We appreciate this may cause concern to patients who are undergoing treatment at the clinic, or have eggs, sperm and/or embryos stored there. We do not want to disrupt patients’ treatment if they have already started medication as part of a treatment cycle, so we have made provisions to allow them to complete their treatment if they wish to do so.”

The Met Police told i that some of its officers attended the centre after concerns were raised by the trust – but that the force is not investigating the centre this time.

The trust has been contacted by i for comment.