Tagging system to cut IVF mix-ups

About 1,200 cycles of treatment are performed a year at the centre

A hospital which plans to be the largest IVF centre in Europe is to electronically tag embryos to reduce the chance of mix-ups.

The system is being introduced at Liverpool Women's Hospital as part of a £5.5m expansion.

The move follows mistakes at UK IVF clinics, including in 2002 when black twins were born to a white couple.

When embryos, eggs or sperm are viewed under a microscope the new system will recognise which patient they belong to.

'Increased confidence'

Dr Steve Troup, scientific director of the hospital's Hewitt Centre for Reproductive Medicine, said: "In the past we did this manually, which was effective, but this new system will make it even more efficient and avoid any potential problems that have occurred in other hospitals.

"The electronic witnessing system offers patients increased confidence that their samples are safe and will not be mixed up at all times during treatment."

Radio frequency tags track samples and are attached to all dishes and tubes in which they are stored. Patients will also have a tagged ID card.

Alarms sound if samples from different patients are brought into the same work area in the laboratory.

The two-storey extension to the Hewitt Centre will be fully open by March next year and make Liverpool Europe's largest single unit IVF centre.

It is already the largest NHS provider in the UK. The Hewitt Centre performs an average of 1,200 cycles of treatment per year, including self-funded treatments with North West Fertility.

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