Fertility patients in court to halt destruction of frozen embryos

A group of more than 15 fertility patients are taking legal action to prevent their frozen embryos being destroyed as a result of administrative errors that could deny them a chance to have children.

- Rachel Hall

The group froze gametes or embryos to improve their chances of conceiving later, but were told by their clinics that owing to administrative errors they had not renewed their consent in time, and would not be able to access their embryos or extend their storage without a court order.

The errors relate to two changes in law. One took place in 2022 and extended the maximum storage period for embryos and gametes (eggs and sperm) from 10 years to 55 years for personal use, provided the individual gives consent every 10 years, and the other was a temporary two-year extension granted during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

In some cases, the clinics failed to contact clients about the need to fill in consent forms to extend storage, held the wrong expiry dates or medical details on file, or did not follow up on reminders. In others, patients missed emails as, they said, the urgency of the subject matter wasn't clear enough. In several cases clinics continued to accept storage payments.