IVF clinics face checks after series of scandals

The fertility watchdog is to conduct spot checks on IVF clinics to make sure they are not mixing up embryos, assaulting patients by performing unnecessary surgery or inseminating women with the wrong sperm.

A new code of conduct will also be introduced next year, the annual report by the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Authority (HFEA) is expected to say, when it is published tomorrow.

The authority is planning the programme of unannounced inspections after a series of high-profile mistakes which led on one occasion to a white couple giving birth to black twins.

Experts will check for the correct storage of embryos, and the methods used to store sperm and eggs. Embryologists will also examine facilities to ensure that couples, who have paid thousands of pounds for IVF treatment, have had their embryos implanted according to the correct procedures. The new inspection regime will assess the risk of mistakes being made and check that clinics are adequate to cope with the increasing number of couples undergoing fertility treatment.

"We could walk in at any moment and do inspections on clinics. We need to have scientists go in and check embryos, equipment and the 'straws' where eggs and sperm are kept," a source close to the watchdog said last night. "We are improving our inspection procedures, it will be more risk-based and look at the way systems work in clinics."

The more rigorous regime follows growing accusations that the HFEA has not been inspecting Britain's 115 fertility units adequately. In one case this month it was alleged that a Hampshire clinician implanted fake embryos into eight women and charged them for the unnecessary treatment to pay off his debts. Paul Fielding denies fraud and assault.

At another clinic, an emergency audit by the watchdog found that the record keeping was so bad that three embryos were left at the bottom of a storage tank.

At a London hospital two women were implanted with the wrong embryos. They underwent emergency operations to have the embryos removed.

The watchdog is keen to improve its image after the series of scandals and criticism by MPs. The stricter code of conduct will force IVF clinics to tighten up their checks, including having witnesses present when sperm and egg are filed to ensure they are used by the right couple.

The code will also formally limit the number of embryos that can transferred to the woman to two per treatment cycle, except in extraordinary circumstances where three can be transferred.

This year's report however, will not include figures showing the number of people having IVF treatment, because of problems with the watchdog's computer system.

The HFEA admitted it has been unable to collate accurate figures and did not know exactly how many couples have successfully undergone fertility treatment. A spokeswoman said that a new computer system would be introduced.