Legal News
Fertility Unit Destroys Cancer Patients’ Frozen Sperm (18 November 2011)
Date: 18/11/2011
A NHS fertility unit has come under fire following destroying the frozen sperm of male cancer patients. The sperm samples derived from men preparing to undergo treatment for conditions such as leukaemia and testicular cancer. The men had chosen to have samples of their sperm frozen, as their treatment could have left them infertile. In freezing samples of their sperm, the patients would have granted themselves a chance to have their own children at a later date. An unknown quantity of sperm samples were believed to have been destroyed in March of this year. An investigation has been launched by IVF Wales to determine precisely which patients’ sperm samples have been destroyed.
The unit’s senior obstetrician and gynaecologist, Janet Evans, and head embryologist, Martine Nijs, have both resigned from the unit since the incident came to light. Ms. Nijs has reportedly informed Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s chief executive officer of her concerns over the safety of the fertility unit. A Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) spokesperson claimed that the incidents at the clinic had been investigated immediately and that the unit had been ordered to reduce the amount of IVF cycles it performs. A spokesperson for the Department of Health maintained that IVF in the UK was strictly regulated and added the HFEA had the power to ensure patient safety and that the department expected the HFEA to take swift action whenever necessary.
Duncan Lewis’ personal injury solicitors can represent clients seeking to acquire compensation for special or general damages.