Patients go to court to stop embryos being destroyed after admin error

Lawyer says difficult to understand' rules on storage consent led to confusion and left clients in limbo'

A group of at least 15 fertility patients are taking legal action to prevent their frozen embryos being destroyed as a result of administrative errors that could deny them a chance to have children.

The group, which includes people with cancer and fertility problems, froze gametes or embryos to improve their chances of conceiving later on, but were informed by their clinics that owing to administrative errors they had not renewed their consent in time and would not be able to access their embryos or extend their storage without a court order.