Hong Kong IVF clinic ordered to suspend most services after embryo sample errors

Hong Kong’s regulator for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has ordered a fertility clinic to partially halt operations after it mishandled embryo biopsy samples from two patients and failed to report the incident to health authorities.

The Council on Human Reproductive Technology said on Tuesday that it had suspended most operations at HEAL Fertility in Central after discovering that embryo biopsy samples the clinic sent for pre-implantation genetic testing belonged to the wrong parents.

Council chairman Professor Raymond Liang Hin-suen said a police report had been filed through the Department of Health after a genetic testing laboratory at the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that samples from two women it had received did not belong to them.

Only one of seven samples from the first woman was hers, while neither of two samples said to belong to the second woman was hers.

Liang said the two tests were conducted in May and the clinic notified the council on June 17. The council set up a task force the following day to investigate the incident.

HEAL Fertility would only be allowed to continue operating its storage facilities and must refer its clients to alternative clinics, Liang added.