IVF Lost Embryo during procedure

[Clucker1993]

Recently, myself and my wife underwent Shared Motherhood Fertility treatment.

On the day of my wife's eggs been collected we had four and a week later 3 had made it to blastasist which was great news, on the morning of the fresh embryo transfer we were informed two were of grade 2.2, one of which had been frozen for future treatment, the best of the two was going to be used that day as fresh transfer and the third one was of a poorer quality therefore this was to be left for 24 hours to see if the quantity would improve enough for it to be frozen.

The procedure went ahead with the Fresh Embryo, the catheter was placed inside myself by the doctor and the embryologist came out with the embryo to be placed inside myself. The whole thing appeared to go smoothly, a check on the embryo catheter showed that the embryo hadn't gone inside and was still in the catheter.

Therefore the doctor reinserted the catheter into myself for them to try the procedure a second time, as the embroglists came out with the embryo the doctor stated she was not ready therefore the embryologist ran back into the lab, when the doctor was finally ready she called for the embryo to be told a short time later that the embryo had been lost and they were trying to relocate it. It was unknown where it had gone but was no longer there to be used. It was gone!!!!!

If you can imagine this was very stressful and traumatic as we had not been informed at any point this could happen during the live procedure. We were advised to use the frozen embryo which we did this time the procedure went smoothly.

We were informed the next day the 3rd embryo had not survived.

The whole procedure left us very stressed as we went from having a future embryo to use as a back up or sibling to no embryos.

The agonising two week wait resulted in a negative test.

The embryologist manger called us the day after and advised us accidents do happen and then provided us with a risk and complication fact sheet which I have attached. Abit late informing us of this after the fact.

Has anyone else experienced the lab losing an embryo during the live procedure, heard of this or something similar?

I'm so sorry your transfer wasn't successful

I've never heard of anything like this before, but am I understanding you correctly that you had your fresh embryo ready to transfer, they attempted the transfer but it failed as it was still in the catheter, at some point between that happening and them trying to redo the transfer the embryologist litteraly took it away and lost it? Like put it down somewhere and couldn't find it? Put it in the washing up pile by accident?

And then because they couldnt find the embryo you were meant to be using, they got the back up out of frozen storage to use instead there and then?

If all of that is correct, i'd be asking for a (free) egg collection. I see what they have sent you relates to problems that may happen in transfer which is unfortauntely just one of those things, but it doesn't sound like the embryo was made unusable because of an issue with the first tranfer, unless I've misunderstood it sounds like the embryo was misplaced because of someones negligence. If that is what happened, then the information they sent you is irrelevant because the embryo was not lost in the sense of a failed transfer procedure.

If they won't put this right for you as best they can (because I appreciate a new egg collection won't fix the harm entirely) then I'd be getting a lawyer. From a practical perspective you paid for a service standard you did not receive, from an ethical and emotional perspecive you deserve an answer as to what happened to your embryo.

Yes, you are reading correctly one explanation we were given if that the bit of glue holding the embryo could of fallen off and dropped on the floor but as it's so small would not be visible to the naked eye. Another was that it was stuck in the catheter, they really did not have any form of clue what happened too it.

We were told it happens occasionally, but I've literally never heard of it happening and know lots of people who have been through the IVF process.

Within the hour they used the frozen embryo, this was advice from the clinic looking back now and how upset and stressed we were this should of been delayed for another day, but you trust the experts.

I went with CARE for IUI and I found them appaulling.

I don't see how they can lose an embryo that's in a catheter if they are holding the catheter correctly.

My last FET the embryo got stuck in on first attempt, they checked catheter, could see it and went ahead again a few minutes later but the whole time it was in the hands of the embryologist.

I think what you've sent above us their way of covering their ass. I know both clinic I've used it, in the paperwork said if there was a power cut and embryos lost they would not be liable. Madness right

I hope you get some answers