Frozen eggs and embryos from about 700 fertility patients may not be viable after a liquid nitrogen freezer at a Cleveland hospital malfunctioned, raising the temperature in a storage tank.
University Hospitals notified the patients this week, explaining that a problem with one of two large freezers preserving the specimens at the hospital’s fertility center was discovered last Sunday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
USA Today reported the status of the 2,000 eggs and embryos was still not clear. Some had been stored since the 1980s.
Patti DePompei, president of the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital and MacDonald Women's Hospital, said the incident happened sometime after staff left the previous afternoon, per Plain Dealer.
"We are investigating a recent incident at our fertility clinic involving an unexpected temperature fluctuation in the storage bank," University Hospitals said in a statement released on Facebook with a video from DePompei. "We are committed to getting answers and working with our patients individually to address their concerns."
DePompei said the hospital sent letters to all the affected patients on Tuesday morning, after verifying current addresses.
One in eight couples in the United States deal with infertility issues, USA Today noted. Harvesting and storing eggs cost patients thousands of dollars with one round of in vitro fertilization topping $15,000.
The tank was plugged into the hospital's emergency power supply and was therefore hooked up to a generator, so it did not lose power, De Pompei said, per the Plain Dealer.
"As part of our analysis we're leaving no stone unturned," she added.