Embryos Might Stay Put
Doctors at the embattled Center for Reproductive Health may not have to move from their satellite office at the Saddleback Memorial Medical Center after all, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday.
“One of the possibilities is that they will stay at the facility in our medical building,” but that Saddleback will cease to manage the practice and provide employees, said Saddleback spokeswoman Jennifer Lefebvre.
Saddleback and its parent company, Memorial Health Services, announced last Thursday that they were cutting ties to the clinic as of June 30 because of alleged drug misuse, insurance fraud and financial improprieties at the main clinic at UC Irvine.
That touched off concern among patients about what might happen to about 3,100 human embryos stored at Saddleback.
Allowing the doctors to lease office space and equipment could allay patients’ concerns, Lefebvre said.
“We will do everything we can do to make sure [the eggs] are safe and cared for,” she said.
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