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posted by martyb on Wednesday March 28 2018, @11:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the cracked-some-eggs...-noggins-next? dept.

In a letter to nearly 1,000 patients, University Hospitals in Ohio says that a tank's remote alarm system, meant to alert an employee to temperature swings, was disabled for an unknown length of time. That led to the destruction of around 4,000 frozen eggs and embryos, double the original estimate:

Hospital officials say they doesn't know who turned the remote alarm off or how long it was disabled. They also said they were aware the tank in question needed preventative maintenance. Some of the eggs and embryos had been stored there since the 1980s. The hospital's investigation is ongoing.

"Right now we do not know whether it's mechanical or human or [a] combination," said James Liu, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at University Hospitals.

He says he doesn't think anyone intentionally disengaged the alarm. "Because it is a computer, we think it's unlikely that there was any kind of external force that was working to hack the computer or anything like that. We think it's unlikely," Liu said.

Previously:
Freezer Malfunction May Have Damaged Up to 2,000 Frozen Eggs and Embryos
Two Fertility Clinic Freezer Failures Occurred in a Single Day


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:41PM

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:41PM (#659496) Journal

    One thing I have learned is that every shop, no matter the kind, always has some amount of dysfunction. In this case, as in many others, an alarm or safety was disabled. Happens a lot when something breaks down because of a minor issue that can easily be duct taped. Probably faulty sensor was causing the alarm to sound so someone unplugged it until it could be serviced. Then the maintenance guy is overworked or overbooked and cant get to it for a few days/weeks. Then something comes up, focus shifts, and the "minor" issue of the faulty alarm is forgotten about. Happens all the time. Big projects get in the way of little ones. Poor time management, poor planning, or possibly under staffing.

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