ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : UCI’s Embarrassments Keep Coming

Every time UC Irvine appears to have learned the full extent of alleged wrongdoing at its once acclaimed fertility clinic, new revelations embarrass the school.

This month, university officials said they had no evidence that any more than 35 names belonged on the list of clinic patients whose eggs may have been implanted in other women without the knowledge of the donors. That was reassuring because the number had held steady for months. Seemingly, top administrators knew the extent of the problem and could start trying to fix matters. The officials also said they had no access to a list indicating the scandal actually involved at least 60 patients.

But days later, an attorney hired by the University of California’s office of the general counsel said he had found a list that probably did include the additional names. The lawyer expressed “horror and chagrin” at overlooking it earlier. He should have. The attorney absolved UCI of blame, saying he took “full responsibility for my mistake.” Candor is refreshing, but the university was embarrassed once again by being late with the facts.

The problem is not just one of numbers. Whether the total is 35 or 60 or the latest, 75, or some other figure yet to be determined, each name represents a woman who trusted and pinned her hopes for having children on a fertility clinic that offered the possibility of success.

When everything goes right at a fertility clinic, the process is long, expensive and emotional for the women and their husbands. To learn that embryos may have been stolen from one woman and given to another can be a nightmare for both the unwitting donor and unsuspecting recipient. Husbands and wives have spoken of feeling betrayed and victimized in this scandal. The three doctors who ran the clinic have denied knowingly doing anything wrong.

Last week university regents praised UCI Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening for her handling of the crisis. While she may have adroitly managed some aspects of a problem that she inherited, the university overall appears to have mishandled a number of things. In addition to the delay in getting the number of victims right, UCI was properly criticized earlier for paying nearly $1 million without the knowledge of regents to campus whistle-blowers who suffered retaliation after telling of possible wrongdoing at the clinic. The school also wrongly tried to rein in auditors investigating the allegations. And university officials were shown to have known about the possible wrongdoing earlier than they acknowledged.

The university’s credibility has been damaged badly by the continuing revelations. Clearly the criminal investigations and legislative inquiries should continue.