After surrogacy, a Bill to regulate IVF too

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 26

After covering surrogacy, the government is in the process of finalising a legislation to regulate in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other forms of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to streamline the sector being powered by rising infertility.

Health Minister JP Nadda today said the Bill was being worked upon and would be opened for consultations soon.

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The Draft Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill will seek to establish a National Advisory Board, State Advisory Boards and a national registry for the accreditation, regulation and supervision of assisted reproductive technology clinics and the assisted reproductive technology banks for prevention of misuse of ARTs and safe and ethical practice of ART services.

“The Bill will deal with all ethical and health issues regarding the donation and use of gametes and the functioning of ART banks,” Secretary (Health Research) and DG, Indian Council of Medical Research Soumya Swaminathan said. The original ART Bill covered surrogacy too, but the government decided to frame a standalone law to address it in the light of rising instances of exploitation of women for surrogacy.

She said the remaining ART techniques will now be regulated through a new Bill, which defines assisted reproductive technology as “all techniques that attempt to obtain a pregnancy by handling or manipulating the sperm or the oocyte outside the human body and transferring the gamete or the embryo into the reproductive tract of a woman”. 

The Bill will lay down conditions for donation of sperms and eggs and also guidelines on the frequency of such donations. Presently, a male or a female can donate their sperms or eggs any number of times and trade of gametes is common.

ART bank will be defined as an organisation to supply sperm or semen and oocytes or oocyte donors to the assisted reproductive technology clinics or their patients. All these banks will have to be registered.