Thousands of frozen sperm donations will be destroyed in Queensland.
It comes after a Health Ombudsman-led audit flagged “significant systemic issues” in the state’s assisted fertility sector, including mix-ups, lost samples and record-keeping errors.
Thousands of samples at one clinic were found to be at high risk of being wrongly labelled.
Here’s what you need to know.
Audit
The Health Ombudsman launched an investigation in Queensland’s fertility service providers after several patients complained of alleged misconduct.
The investigation examined data from sperm donations over the past decade as part of its investigation.
It also looked into the 24 fertility clinics licensed to provide services such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in Queensland.
Findings
The regulator identified severe “gaps and risks” in the industry. Evidence from hundreds of complaints included “the misplacement of gametes [sperm and eggs], use of incorrect embryos, and mix-ups in sperm samples.”
It also identified issues around medical screenings of donors as well as “various challenges and shortcomings in record keeping”.
For example, “failure to maintain accurate contact details for donors, and inadequate disclosure of medical information to donor-conceived children and recipients.”
Complaints
The Ombudsman has called for stronger safeguards to protect consumers, donors and donor-conceived people.
The report said the impact of the identified errors “cannot be underestimated.”
“The trauma and distress associated with these cases has been evident,” the report said.
The Qld Government table a bill in parliament that would introduce regulatory standards for fertility providers. This includes a donor conception information register.
“The findings of this investigation underscore the need for robust legislative frameworks to oversee ART services and protect the interests of consumers and donor-conceived individuals,” Qld Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said.
TDA has contacted Queensland Fertility Group (which runs several clinics across the state) for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of posting.
