Couples face embryo dilemma

The labelling on five frozen embryos had broken off

Five couples are facing a dilemma after a problem at a Belfast fertility centre.

Labelling tags on five frozen embryos being stored at the Royal Victoria Hospital have broken, leaving the authorities unable to identify with certainty to which couples they belong.

Earlier this year, an audit of the hospital's 3,700 embryos revealed the problem.

Jane Graham of the Eastern Health and Social Services Council said she was told the legal opinion is that unless there is total certainty about the identity of the embryos, then they cannot be used.

She has spoken to one of the couples who are being asked what to do with the embryo.

She said: "If the trust cannot be certain about the identity of these, then consent to use them would not be valid.

"People who are in this situation must be adequately informed about the risks.

"It is a huge issue for them to decide, 'do we dispose of this or do we use it,' knowing that it is not properly labelled."

The couple involved also felt that they weren't adequately informed about the risks.

But Dr David Boyle, a consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician at the Royal Victoria, said the hospital could not detail every risk.

He said: "These things do occasionally happen and at the time we do our best in a sensitive way to explain it to the couple and explain it to them what their options are at that point."

Dr Boyle said the hospital would be having further discussions with the couples to offer whatever support they needed in either coming to a decision or coming to terms with whatever decision has to be made.