A somber announcement from ochsner hospital c-e-o doctor patrick quinlan. "We are disappointed in ourselves in what we have learned to date. We are deeply sorry for the concerns, anxiety and fear we know this causes our patients." Quinlan announced an internal audit of the In Vitro Fertilization Center at Elmwood is underway after they discovered embryos have been mislabeled, some unaccounted for.
"Each case is individual and the individual concerns of each of will be reviewed with them." According to Chief Medical Officer Joseph Bisordi, about 100 patients are affected. They're being notified about the audit, which may take months to complete.
However, Bisordi says there's no evidence that any embryo was implanted in the wrong mother. Still, the IVF program has been stopped indefinitely. "We said we're halting the program and we're going to get to the bottom of it. It's an investigation. And although I know you want to know a lot but until we know, we can't share it with you and it's that simple and it's that difficult," says Dr. Quinlan.
Hospital heads realized there was an issue about a year ago, and that's when a series of evaluations began. All embryos will remain in tact. " Louisiana law requires us to maintain all frozen embryos in perpetuity. That's our approach and will continue to be our approach," says Dr. Bisordi.
Patients currently enrolled will get help transitioning to a new facility. For information about the IVF Center, go to questions@ochsner.org or call 866-727-1915.
"Each case is individual and the individual concerns of each of will be reviewed with them." According to Chief Medical Officer Joseph Bisordi, about 100 patients are affected. They're being notified about the audit, which may take months to complete.
However, Bisordi says there's no evidence that any embryo was implanted in the wrong mother. Still, the IVF program has been stopped indefinitely. "We said we're halting the program and we're going to get to the bottom of it. It's an investigation. And although I know you want to know a lot but until we know, we can't share it with you and it's that simple and it's that difficult," says Dr. Quinlan.
Hospital heads realized there was an issue about a year ago, and that's when a series of evaluations began. All embryos will remain in tact. " Louisiana law requires us to maintain all frozen embryos in perpetuity. That's our approach and will continue to be our approach," says Dr. Bisordi.
Patients currently enrolled will get help transitioning to a new facility. For information about the IVF Center, go to questions@ochsner.org or call 866-727-1915.
