Three women have IVF embryos destroyed after doctors fertilise them with wrong mens sperm

Special Report:Tech Max

Three women had their IVF treatments abandoned after a mix-up at a leading hospital led to their eggs being fertilised with the wrong sperm.

Shambolicmix-up:Asinglespermisinjecteddirectlyintoan
eggusingtheassistedreproductiontechniqueintracytoplasmic
sperminjection.Inthiscase,thewomen'sembryoswere
terminatedafteritwasdiscoveredthattheireggswere
fertilisedwiththewrongmen'ssperm.[Agencies]

The embryos, which had not been implanted in the womb, were destroyed after an embryologist discovered the mistake. It is thought to be the result of an administrative error.

During the IVF process, eggs and the sperm are normally left in a Petri dish for around 18 hours so that fertilisation can take place.

In this case, the mistake was spotted within a few hours of the wrong sperm being put into each dish at Guy's Hospital in South-East London. The couples were told immediately.

Two years ago a watchdog concluded that the Assisted Conception Unit at Guy's was carrying out procedures it described as 'risky'. A report from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority warned that embryologists at the hospital were running the risk of confusing sperm samples from different men by preparing them in the same container.

Yesterday Sue Avery, a former chairman of the Association of Clinical Embryologists, described the latest revelation as 'very serious'.

She added: 'We would expect in the case of repetition that the HFEA might want to investigate unless they can be thoroughly satisfied that the centre has taken sufficient action.'

Some 37,000 women receive fertility treatment in Britain each year.

But problems with the labelling of sperm and eggs at a number of clinics have raised fears that dozens of babies may have been born to the wrong parents.

Although mistakes may often go unnoticed, mixed-race twins were born to white parents in Leeds in 2002 after the mother's eggs were fertilised with the wrong sperm.

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