O-182 To err is human, also for those working in ART
Authors: Alteri A 
Published: July 2024

Medically assisted reproduction (MAR) centers combine clinical and technical expertise with a very high complexity. Over the years, MAR centers have undergone increased intricacy due to incorporating laboratory techniques, such as cryopreservation of oocytes and embryos and micromanipulation, embryo culture, and pre-implantation genetic testing. Not only the technicality of the MAR laboratory profession is challenging, but the complexity of each phase has increased over the years; the patient population undergoing treatment has expanded, where not only the intended parents’ gametes are involved but also the utilization of gametes from egg and sperm donors, as well as including a gestational carrier receiving the embryo.

These complexities have led to the implementation of rigorous control measures to mitigate the risk of errors. Nevertheless, a zero-risk fertility clinic is an illusion, given the many necessary interventions and manipulations in each treatment cycle. Errors in fertility practice involving gametes or embryos can be devastating to patients and clinical personnel, often raising psychological, legal, ethical, economic, and practical concerns. The most critical cases of risk of harm in MAR procedures involve misidentifying a patient, gamete, or embryo, called ‘mix-up,’ which could lead to dramatic consequences. Although the frequency is low, mix-up cases have been described worldwide. Other adverse events derive from preventable human actions, e.g., overlooking an embryo when carrying out assessments, dropping a dish, incorrect labeling, improper pipetting technique, unusually poor thawing, and inadvertent discard of the sample.

Human error cannot be eradicated. In the old view, human error was perceived as the root cause of problems, with individuals being viewed as variables requiring control. Conversely, contemporary perspectives consider human error a symptom of deeper systemic issues. As suggested by the Institute of Medicine in 2000, which published the report “To Err Is Human,” the core of the problem lies not with the fallibility of healthcare personnel but the flawed systems within which they operate. Preventing errors is possible by incorporating safety into system processes and hospital structures. Latent errors are errors that arise due to system inefficiencies. In the context of MAR, these latent conditions can, amongst others, be work-related pressure, high workload, lack of communication between team members, distraction, a suboptimal setup of the lab, a lack of clarity in the procedures, and insufficient time for thorough communication. In the famous Reason’s Swiss cheese theory of error, these latent conditions are weaknesses (or gaps/ holes) in the system’s defense layers. When all the holes from each layer (i.e., policy, planning, design, communication) align, they will permit an error to cause harm.

Understanding the theory of human errors and building safety into various layers of care processes in MAR are effective ways of reducing errors rather than blaming sentinel individuals. Errors within MAR centers can be prevented by designing the healthcare system at all levels to make it safer, making it hard for people to do the wrong thing and easy for people to do the right thing.