Nitrogen failure at SF fertility clinic; damage to frozen eggs unknown

Embryologist Ric Ross holds a dish with human embryos at the La Jolla IVF Clinic February 28, 2007 in La Jolla, California. The clinic accepts donated embryos from around the country through The Stem Cell resource which are then given to stem cell research labs for research. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) less Embryologist Ric Ross holds a dish with human embryos at the La Jolla IVF Clinic February 28, 2007 in La Jolla, California. The clinic accepts donated embryos from around the country through The Stem Cell ... more Photo: Sandy Huffaker, Getty Images Photo: Sandy Huffaker, Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Nitrogen failure at SF fertility clinic; damage to frozen eggs unknown 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A San Francisco fertility clinic acknowledged Sunday that it suffered a liquid nitrogen failure in a storage tank that may have damaged thousands of frozen eggs and embryos and the aspirations of people hoping to have children.

Hundreds of patients whose eggs or embryos were stored in the tank for future use have been notified, said a spokesman for the Pacific Fertility Clinic. The number of eggs and embryos affected was not disclosed.

The spokesman, Tom Becker, confirmed a Washington Post report of the March 4 incident. Pacific Fertility said in a statement that “the vast majority of the eggs and embryos in the lab were unaffected, and the facility is operating securely.”

The incident was the second liquid nitrogen failure at a fertility center reported in the same week. Officials at the University Hospital Fertility Center in Cleveland said Thursday that a similar failure may have damaged 2,000 eggs and embryos.

The Post reported that the San Francisco clinic notified about 400 patients who had all of their eggs or embryos stored in the affected storage tank and 100 who had some stored in the tank. Others, whose specimens were unaffected, were also notified.

Carl Herbert, a doctor and clinic president, told the newspaper that the clinic’s laboratory director discovered during a routine inspection that the level of liquid nitrogen in the tank was low, which can cause the temperature to rise. Herbert could not be reached by The Chronicle for comment.

The lab director transferred the eggs and embryos to a spare storage tank filled with nitrogen.

“This was a terrible incident,” Herbert told the Post, “but I was reassured that he did everything anybody could ever want to do.”

In its statement, Pacific Fertility said an independent investigation is in progress and apologized for the incident.

“Our patients and the safety of their eggs and embryos are our highest priorities and we are reaching out to inform them of this incident. In addition, we have completed a physical inspection of all of the lab equipment and have also thoroughly reviewed all cryo-preservation protocols with staff. We are truly sorry this happened and for the anxiety that this will surely cause.”

The clinic is uncertain how many of the eggs and embryos are damaged, he said, and can’t be used for in-vitro fertilization. Herbert told the Post some of the eggs in the tank had been tested and were undamaged.

In addition to the emotional toll of patients not knowing whether the specimens are usable, the financial cost could also be high.

According to the Pacific Fertility website, egg-freezing costs $8,345 for the first round and $6,995 for each subsequent round.

Sean Tipton, chief policy, development and advocacy officer for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which represents people working in fertility clinics, said the first priority is to work with patients to see whether some of their eggs or embryos were stored in other tanks or at other facilities.

Tipton said he was unaware of similar malfunctions that damaged thousands of eggs and embryos. With two occurring almost simultaneously, he said, further investigation is necessary.

“With two apparently happening on the same day, we have to find out what other types of commonalities there were,” he said. “There are a lot of questions we need to find out answers to so we can prevent these occurrences from happening again.”