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The Israeli Health Ministry has sharply criticized the Assuta Medical Center in Tel Aviv for its mishandling of multiple incidents at its fertility clinic, including a case where a woman was mistakenly impregnated with the wrong sperm and another where women’s eggs were ruined.
In a scathing statement released Thursday, the ministry condemned the medical center’s lack of professionalism, slow response, and attempts to cover up serious errors.
The statement follows the conclusion of an inquiry launched by the ministry into the Assuta Medical Center’s IVF department in Ramat Hachayal, a prominent medical center located in Tel Aviv.
While the Health Ministry made the findings public, it refrained from disclosing the full details of the investigation or the exact actions it intends to take against the facility.
The inquiry was prompted by several troubling incidents last year, including a high-profile case in which a woman gave birth to two children who were genetically unrelated to her partner, despite being conceived via in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
At the time, the ministry had ordered Assuta to halt new patient intake at its IVF clinic while the department was under investigation.
According to the ministry’s findings, the response from Assuta staff was “slow and clumsy” when the mistake of fertilizing a woman’s eggs with the wrong sperm was discovered.
The report highlighted the clinic’s failure to implement a proper procedure for handling such errors. It also revealed that the incident was not reported to the Health Ministry, and the couple involved was met with a lack of sensitivity and professionalism when they demanded answers.
The administrators and staff, feeling “attacked,” reportedly responded defensively, further compounding the situation.
The report also criticized the medical center for initially dismissing the incident, claiming it did not need to be reported to the ministry, a decision that the Health Ministry deemed “irresponsible” and unprofessional.
In addition to the sperm mix-up, the inquiry uncovered a separate incident involving the mishandling of 13 fertilized eggs that had been accidentally dried out due to an apparent technical error.
The incident forced the patients involved to undergo additional egg retrieval procedures. Investigators noted discrepancies between the internal report prepared by Assuta and the version sent to the ministry.
The latter report failed to mention key factors, such as the workload of the embryologists and the delays that contributed to the mishap. Furthermore, the internal investigation did not adequately address previous warnings issued by the lab about the matter.
The Health Ministry’s findings suggest that Assuta had attempted to “hide essential and important facts” from authorities, characterizing the actions as a “bad faith” effort to conceal the true extent of the mistakes.
The fallout from these incidents extends beyond the fertility clinic’s mishandling of patient care. A recent court ruling in Rishon Lezion has intensified the spotlight on Assuta’s IVF practices.
The court ruled that a two-year-old girl, conceived through IVF at Assuta’s facility, must be removed from the custody of the woman who raised her, ordering that the girl be placed with her biological parents instead.
While this ruling raised legal and ethical concerns, there has been no report of similar legal actions concerning the two children affected by the fertilization mistake in Tel Aviv.
In response to the Health Ministry’s findings, Assuta issued a statement acknowledging the inquiry’s conclusions. The medical center pledged to take the necessary steps to rectify the faults identified and emphasized its commitment to “full transparency.”
Assuta further explained that it had already carried out a thorough internal review of the incidents, which included implementing stricter procedures and investing in advanced technology to improve safety in its fertility clinic.
Assuta also addressed the dried eggs incident, acknowledging the issue but assuring that the procedures had been clarified, and internal monitoring systems had been strengthened.
The medical center’s statement added that the lessons learned from the investigation had already been applied, citing a recent Health Ministry monitoring report that confirmed improvements in safety and quality.
Despite Assuta’s assurances, the Health Ministry’s investigation revealed that significant breaches of protocol had occurred in the IVF department due to a heavy workload and insufficient safeguards.
These issues were first brought to light in a similar investigation into the Ramat Hachayal IVF clinic, published in March 2023, which also found that mismanagement had contributed to the embryo mix-up.
As the Health Ministry continues its investigation and evaluates potential consequences for the medical center, the events have raised wider questions about the regulation and oversight of fertility treatments in Israel.
The ministry’s report underscores the importance of accountability and transparency in healthcare, particularly in sensitive areas like reproductive medicine.
The ongoing scrutiny of Assuta’s fertility clinic has prompted calls for stronger regulations and more stringent monitoring of IVF procedures, as the medical center grapples with the fallout from these highly publicized errors.