Hong Kong lawmakers have called for fertility clinics to be mandated to report serious incidents within 24 hours to both the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) regulator and health authorities. This demand follows the revelation of an embryo mix-up at HEAL Fertility in Central, which went undisclosed for weeks.

The Council on Human Reproductive Technology disclosed that it ordered HEAL Fertility to suspend 14 of its 17 services after discovering that embryo biopsy specimens sent for pre-implantation genetic testing were mistakenly assigned to the wrong patients.

Lawmaker Rebecca Chan Hoi-yan, a member of the Legislative Council’s health services panel, emphasized the need for an immediate review and amendment of the council’s code of practice. She highlighted that the current Code of Practice on Reproductive Technology and Embryo Research does not specify the timeframe for reporting such incidents, stating, “This must be reviewed and rectified.” Chan suggested that authorities could look to other regulatory frameworks to establish a 24-hour reporting requirement.

IVF is a fertility treatment involving the retrieval of eggs from a woman’s ovaries and fertilizing them with sperm in a laboratory to create embryos.

The incident at HEAL Fertility has prompted calls to close regulatory gaps to ensure timely reporting and prevent similar occurrences in the future.