ABOUT 20 Victorian families have had their baby dreams shattered after a hospital bungle.

The Herald Sun can reveal the Royal Women's Hospital must immediately destroy the frozen sperm samples kept illegally due to an administration error.

The hospital has so far defied the order. If the samples are not destroyed, hospital bosses could face up to two years in prison.

Victoria's Patient Review Panel has rejected an 11th-hour bid for more time.

Their only hope now is if the State Government steps in to change laws demanding destruction of the semen.



The State Government and Health Department last night were trying to resolve the heartbreaking dispute, with officials desperately trying to work out if they could alter legislation.

Under Victoria's new fertility laws, sperm samples must be destroyed after 10 years unless patients apply for an extension to maintain their frozen samples.

The Government also has launched a probe into the Royal Women's Hospital, which is alleged to have failed to tell families their 10-year deadline was closing, effectively ending their chances of becoming parents.

However, retired Family Court judge Susan Morgan - who chairs the independent Patient Review Panel - has refused to offer any leniency.

Time extensions are almost always granted when hospitals follow correct procedure and provide ample time to apply to the panel for a storage extension.

One devastated man made a last-ditch appeal to the panel to fight for his chance at fatherhood, only to be told it would not even consider his bid in a letter stating he was "out of time - end of story".

The man had chosen to have his sperm stored while fighting testicular cancer as the only chance he had of becoming a father.

Because the panel has not even made a ruling there is no right to appeal at VCAT, meaning he and the other families will have to rely on government intervention to save their hopes of parenthood.

It is believed many of the other families affected by the bungle are unaware their chances of parenthood are being ripped away - because they are yet to try to use their stored samples or be contacted by the hospital.

Hitting out at the judgement, Health Minister David Davis said: "It appears to be an overly rigid and harsh application of the law and may create unfair outcomes for patients in unique circumstances."

Laws governing the maintenance of embryo samples were tightened under the 2009 changes to the Reproductive Treatment Bill to offset concerns about human cloning. The changes were extended to sperm storage, which inadvertently led to the crisis at the Royal Women's.

A Royal Women's spokesman said even though it was breaking the law, the hospital was refusing to destroy the sperm until all legislative avenues had been exhausted.

"We just think it is the morally right thing to do, to not destroy the sperm because that is an irreversible step - we're trying to protect the rights of the patients here," she said.