The Feb. 6 Metro section article “Judge says lost embryo a human” does not point out that there are fertility centers that take the responsibility for the embryos placed in their care very seriously.
I am concerned that these incidents have left the public with the impression that care of embryos at all fertility centers is irresponsible and haphazard. Since these are indeed potential lives that we are caring for, we must be held to a higher standard. No one, however, is completely immune to human error.
Therefore, in setting up the protocols for our center, we assumed that these errors could happen and then built assurances into our protocols to catch and prevent every potential mistake.
For example, I have listed two processes that have assurances built into the procedure.
When eggs are retrieved from a patient, the patient is asked to personally state her name and Social Security number prior to starting the procedure. In this way, the embryologist collecting the eggs and labeling the container is not dependent on another staff member to remember the correct name. Additionally by asking the patient to directly state her Social Security number, the embryologist makes sure to avoid any mix-up with similar names. Of course this is all redundant because the embryologist would have already met the patient earlier that morning and would be able to recognize her. Nonetheless it is the process of double-checking all information that prevents identification mix-ups.
When patients request to have embryos disposed, they must sign a form and place their name and Social Security number on that form. This must be done in the presence of a staff member who makes sure that they understand what the form means and witnesses their reading, filling out and signing of the form. At least two staff members are then required to simultaneously check the names and Social Security numbers on the embryos being discarded and match them directly to the signed form.
