IVF incident: "All of us at Monash IVF are devastated"

Monash IVF has confirmed that the embryo of one patient at its Brisbane clinic was incorrectly transferred to another patient, resulting in the birth of a child.

“On behalf of Monash IVF, I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened,” Monash IVF CEO Michael Knaap said. “All of us at Monash IVF are devastated and we apologise to everyone involved. We will continue to support the patients through this extremely distressing time.”

Monash IVF says it undertook an initial investigation into the incident after becoming aware of it in February 2025, finding it to be “the result of human error”. To support its initial investigation, and to identify any further safeguards that may be recommended, Monash IVF said it commissioned Fiona McLeod AO SC to conduct an independent investigation into the incident, which is ongoing.

“Since becoming aware of this incident, we have undertaken additional audits and we’re confident that this is an isolated incident,” Knaap said. “We are reinforcing all our safeguards across our clinics — we also commissioned an independent investigation and are committed to implementing its recommendations in full.”

Monash IVF also said it has “disclosed the incident to the relevant assisted reproductive technology (ART) regulators, including the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee and voluntarily reported the incident to the new Queensland ART regulator”. Compliance audits across its sites are conducted regularly, the company said, “so that risks are identified and mitigated”.

The company also said it “adheres to strict laboratory safety measures (including multi-step identification processes) to safeguard and protect the embryos in its care”.

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