Monash IVF Group Ltd (ASX:MVF) recovered slightly on Wednesday following a sharp drop in its share price on its announcement of a second embryo transfer error, just months after the revelation of a similar incident in Brisbane.
The latest issue, confirmed in an ASX release on Tuesday, occurred at Monash IVF’s Clayton laboratory on June 5 and involved a patient receiving her own embryo instead of her partner's, contrary to the prescribed treatment plan.
This follows a previous incident at its Brisbane clinic, announced in April, where an embryo was mistakenly implanted into the wrong patient, resulting in the birth of a child with the incorrect biological parents. Monash IVF noted that the “different incidents occurred some years apart”.
Company’s response and ongoing investigation
Monash IVF has expressed its apologies to the affected couples and assured the public that it is conducting thorough investigations into both incidents. The company is expanding the independent review of the Brisbane incident, led by Fiona McLeod AO SC, to encompass the new Clayton lab issue as well.
Monash IVF has also promised to implement additional verification steps and patient safeguards beyond its usual electronic witness systems and practices.
“Whilst industry leading electronic witness systems have and are being rolled out across Monash IVF, there remains instances and circumstances whereby manual witnessing is required,” it said.
The company has notified regulators and insurers, and it expects the incidents to fall within its insurance coverage.
Despite the setbacks, Monash IVF maintains that its financial outlook for the 2025 financial year remains unchanged, and it said it will continue to provide updates as necessary.
Share price tumbles
The news sent Monash IVF's share price down by 28% on Tuesday. Despite climbing back on Tuesday by about 12% as of 4:30 pm AEST, the company’s stock is still grappling with investor concerns, down nearly 22% over the past five days.
The two incidents have raised questions about the effectiveness of Monash IVF’s internal processes, particularly regarding patient safety and error prevention in the high-stakes field of assisted reproductive technology (ART).