The malfunction occurred when temperatures unexpectedly fluctuated in the liquid nitrogen storage tank

More than 4,000 eggs and embryos were affected by a freezer malfunction in an Ohio fertility clinic and it's unlikely any of them are viable, CNN reports.

The University Hospitals Fertility Clinic also said about 950 families were affected by the storage tank failure earlier this month. At the time, the facility in Cleveland said it believed about 700 families were affected.

The malfunction occurred when temperatures unexpectedly fluctuated in the liquid nitrogen storage tank where the eggs and embryos were stored. An investigation revealed that the remote alarm system on the tank, designed to alert an employee to changes such as temperature swings, was off.

The technical manner in which the eggs and embryos are stored in these freezers complicated our initial determination of how many patients and specimens were affected", announced the clinic in a letter.

The University Hospitals Fertility Clinic in Cleveland is facing dozens of legal actions, CNN reports.