Fault at NHS clinics risks baby hopes of cancer patients

Frozen eggs and embryos may not survive thawing process

- MARTIN BAGOT

WOMEN may have lost out on the chance to become mothers due to a fault at NHS fertility clinics.

Vials of solution used to freeze eggs and embryos could have been mislabelled, the manufacturer has admitted, which may mean they will not survive thawing.

And a delay in informing women of the problem could have led to them having treatments such as a hysterectomies without realising they were giving up their last chance of motherhood.

US firm Cooper Surgical issued an urgent safety notice about its freezing solution in February 2023.

It said one "lot" of the product "may contain mislabelled vials" which "may impact the viability" of the eggs or embryos.

Guy's and St Thomas' NLIS Tunt in London wood the solution on 136 patients' eggs and embryos. These include cancer patients who have since had hysterectomies.