Monash

The mix-up at Monash IVF in Brisbane, Queensland has been blamed on human error, Australian media reports.

"On behalf of Monash IVF, I want to say how truly sorry I am for what has happened," CEO Michael Knaap said, adding that everyone at the fertility clinic was "devastated" at the mistake.

According to a spokesperson for Monash IVF, staff became aware of the problem in February when the birth parents asked to transfer their remaining frozen embryos to another clinic.

Monash has confirmed that an embryo from another patient had been mistakenly thawed and transferred to the wrong person, resulting in the birth of a child.

In the study, run by Monash University and Alfred Health researchers at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, half of the men got an oral antibiotic and a topical antibiotic cream to apply to the skin for one week, while the control group of men were given no treatment.