AIIMS doctor gave IVF patient's eggs to two women without consent; let off with warning

An AIIMS doctor has been given a six-year warning for giving eggs to patients without consent during IVF treatment.

An All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) doctor has been let off by the National Medical Commission (NMC) with a warning for giving some eggs of a patient undergoing IVF treatment to two other women without her consent. The doctor had appealed to the NMC after the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) ordered the suspension of her license for one month in September last year.

A doctor at AIIMS Delhi reportedly provided eggs of a woman undergoing IVF treatment to two other patients without her consent. (AP/ Representational)

What is the case about?

A complaint filed with the DMC in 2017 alleged that 30 eggs were retrieved from the patient on August 12 of that year for an IVF procedure. The doctor allegedly took 14 of the 30 eggs from the embryologist and provided those to two patients without the consent of the woman, reported PTI quoting Dr Girish Tyagi, the secretary of DMC.

Medical councils' observations

The NMC in its warning on July 18, almost six years after the incident, noted the doctor has contributed immensely to the field of reproductive medicine.

“In spite of the fact that the act in question was done in good faith to benefit the poor patients without accruing any personal gain, it cannot be denied that prevailing guidelines were violated. So, the doctor is warned to be more careful in future,” read the order.

A disciplinary committee of the DMC had earlier investigated the complaint against the doctor.

During that time, the DMC observed that "sharing a patient's eggs/oocytes is not only illegal, as sharing/donation of such nature is prohibited as per the ICMR guidelines, but also unethical, moreover, when no written consent of the donor as well as recipient as per the guidelines have been made available to the Delhi Medical Council."

The AIIMS in its internal enquiry report dated August 30, 2017, also highlighted the lapses committed by the doctor.

Doctor's defense

The doctor earlier claimed before the DMC that since both her patients had multiple failed IVF cycles in the past, she shared the eggs in the best interest and helped the recipients without comprising with the outcome of the patient from whom the eggs were taken, said the report.

After a negative decision against her from the DMC, the doctor then appealed to the NMC seeking the quashing of the Delhi Medical Council order.

“The committee under the DMC failed to differentiate the bona fide case of egg sharing granted in ICMR guidelines followed at that time with allegations of clandestine stealing of eggs made in the anonymous complaint,” she said.

“The complex procedure of egg retrieval, fertilisation and sharing was done by the entire IVF team in consultation with all stakeholders, including the treating physician and was recorded in the lab documents in a transparent manner known to all,” the appeal added.

(With PTI inputs)