Families Are Heartbroken After Losing Embryos in IVF Clinic ’s Freezer Failure: “I Don’t Think You Can Fix This”

Betty Jacobs first heard about the freezer problem on Thursday, March 8, when she scrolled through her Facebook news feed. That day, a local Ohio paper had published an article about temperature changes at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, where Jacobs underwent IVF and had her twins in 2016. Because of these temperature changes — which had occurred the previous Saturday — more than 2,000 frozen eggs and embryos were potentially damaged and unviable. Jacobs had two embryos frozen in their storage facilities, but was reassured when the news report said that the hospital had notified all of the affected people. “I thought, it didn’t involve me, and didn’t think anything of it,” she says. The next day, she learned she was wrong. When she picked up her mail, she saw a letter from the University Hospitals. “My heart just dropped,” she says. “I just knew in that moment that I was probably affected too.” The letter, addressed to “community member,” informed her that there was an issue with a storage tank that housed frozen eggs and embryos. It provided a phone number for Jacobs to call to set up an appointment to speak with a fertility doctor. Desperate for answers, Jacobs called immediately, and when her doctor was booked up over the next few days, she asked to speak to any doctor who might answer some of her questions. But even then she had to wait until after the weekend &m...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized fertility healthytime Source Type: news