Scanning the infertility centres

BANGALORE: "With infertility centre mushrooming across the country, it has become of utmost importance to regulate the functioning of such clinics and to ensure that the services provided by them are ethical,’’ said Dr Kamini Rao, medical director, Bangalore Assisted Conception Centre (BACC) and also a member of the ART (regulations) bill drafting committee.Speaking to the press on Tuesday, she said that a committee comprising of medical and legal experts guided by the government officials drafted an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill 2010 for the consideration and enactment by the Parliament of India.The draft Bill came in 2002 which was in public domain, it was discussed only in 2008, 2009.Meanwhile the bill was presented and approved by the law ministry last year. The draft Bill calls for a national framework for the accreditation, regulation and supervision of assisted reproductive technology clinics.Dr Kamini said that the constitution should provide for a national advisory board and state board to monitor assisted reproductive technology clinics and to ensure good medical practices by them.“The infertility centre requires a high level of expertise. But many of them operate as a ‘baby manufacturing center’ that exploits patients,’’ she added. She also added “If bypass surgery or renal disease can come under insurance then why can’t infertility come under the purview of insurance so that it can be afforded by the rich along with those below the poverty line as well. They too can seek the treatment by reducing the costs. Every taluka in the government sector and every districts should have infertility clinics authenticated by the government.’’There has to be clarity with respect to aspects such as Invitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), surrogacy, ART banks, She also maintained that there are 700-800 infertility clinics in India and 25 in Bangalore. “ART clinics under the government sector which are functioning at AIIMS, Delhi, Chandigarh and now Jaipur is also considering it,” she added.Under consideration for eight years, the Bill will soon be tabled in the Parliament. It addresses the following concerns, surrogacy, ethics of clinics, sex-determination, PGD, ART banks for sperms and embryos and more.