Witness System
The witness system is an innovative system that assisted reproduction clinics are beginning to implement within their facilities to avoid the rare cases of mix-ups between biological samples. Although these types of errors rarely occur, the experience can be traumatic for parents when they do.
With the goal of achieving the highest quality standards, clinics offer this system to patients for their peace of mind. During assisted reproduction treatment, a patient can visit the clinic to be artificially inseminated with her partner’s sperm, or to have her egg fertilized in vitro (in a test tube) and then implanted in her uterus. In either of these procedures, the couple may be concerned that the sperm or egg could be accidentally exchanged with another person, resulting in a baby that is not biologically theirs. This is why biological samples must be thoroughly monitored to avoid any possibility of error, and this system achieves this.
Before starting the process, patients receive a card with their personal information, which is always used to verify their identity before collecting any samples. Each tube, plate, or container used with these samples is labeled with electronic tags associated with the patient’s card.
This system uses receivers that independently verify the data at each stage of the treatment and are capable of detecting any alteration in the protocol used to identify the samples and can interrupt the process if necessary.
In addition to the Witnes system, laboratory professionals must visually check the identity of each patient and sample, thus providing a double guarantee of security. Previously, clinics relied on the diligence of their staff to ensure samples were not mixed up, but now they can also rely on this system to ensure no identity errors occur during assisted reproduction treatments.
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