‘Insider’ destroyed embryos at NHS clinic

POLICE have ruled out intruders being behind the destruction of embryos at an NHS fertility clinic as internal investigations continue.

Last week, Homerton Fertility Centre in east London was ordered to close following concerns that 153 embryos, from 45 patients, may not have survived the freezing process or could not be found.

The regulator intervened after The Telegraph raised concerns from whistleblowers who warned of bad practice and said experimental techniques were being used for embryo freezing.

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said it had called in police to assess whether an outsider could have entered the storage facilities, but officers found no evidence of unauthorised access.

“We believe they were satisfied with the security,” a trust spokesman told the Mail on Sunday.

The Metropolitan Police said it had visited the unit but confirmed there was no criminal investigation ongoing.

Louise Ashley, chief executive of the trust, wrote a letter last week apologising to patients and admitting she was aware of ‘three separate incidents’ in the last year where errors had occurred with embryo freezing.

“Tragically this has, in some cases, resulted in a small number of embryos either not surviving or being undetectable,” she said and announced that external clinical experts were investigating. However, experts said it was unusual for embryos that were in storage to vanish so that they were no longer detectable.

Professor Allan Pacey, a renowned fertility expert from the University of Manchester, said: “I don’t know what they mean by “undetectable” in this instance.

“It’s certainly possible for embryos to die and break up so they can’t be found. But I think this is quite rare when they have got to the freezing stage, which is what I think they are talking about here.”

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said it had suspended the centre’s licence to operate with immediate effect because of “significant concerns about the clinic.”