Dear patients of the Brigham IVF Center,
We are contacting you to share an update on timing for all IVF procedures and appointments on our Brigham campus. As we previously announced, on Dec. 24, several areas of Brigham and Women’s Hospital were affected by a water leak, including our IVF laboratory, which has had to delay some appointments as a result.
We want to reassure you that all the embryos and eggs in our storage tanks are safe, unaffected, and continue to be securely stored in our alarmed, continuously monitored cryo-tanks. Our well-established response protocols and rapid action of our operations team on Dec 24 worked as intended to protect the embryos and eggs you have entrusted to us.
We expect building repairs to be completed by tomorrow, January 6. Once completed we will take a number of steps to ensure our facility is back to full working order. These include a full clean up and re-installation of equipment, and air quality checks to meet our stringent quality standards. Following completion of these tests, we will resume all appointments at our Brigham location. We anticipate this date to be January 16 and will communicate immediately if there is any delay.
Our clinical teams have reached out to all impacted patients who are already in an IVF cycle and require a procedure prior to the lab reopening. We are offering them the opportunity to move forward with egg retrievals and fresh embryo transfers with our clinical teams at an alternative site. We are actively working to coordinate a seamless transition and are communicating all the details of each patient’s care directly with them.
We understand that any delay in care is extremely challenging. Our Patient and Family Relations team is available to support you with any additional needs, questions, or concerns and to help navigate and mitigate any financial or insurance issues as a result of this event. They can also connect you with our social work professionals for additional support. You can reach them by calling our main Patient/Family Relations Department 617-732-6636 Monday through Friday from 8:00-5:00; or by emailing PTRelations@Partners.org.
Your decision to entrust your fertility care to us is something we take very seriously. Every member of our team considers it an enormous privilege to care for you and your family, and we are here to support you.
Mark D. Hornstein, M.D.
Director, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
