Move to regulate ART clinics in city

LUCKNOW: The unregulated clinics providing Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) in the state capital might be forced to close their shops if guidelines proposed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are followed.
According to estimates, Lucknow presently has 8 such clinics offering ART facilities to about 10 per cent of the population. Except for laws banning sex determination and amniocentesis, there is no specific law or central agency to regulate the working of these clinics.The 100-page first draft of “National Guidelines on Accreditation, Regulation and Supervision of ART clinics in India� is being deliberated upon by the Union ministries of health and law. Expressing concern over the “mushrooming of infertility clinics� in the country, it aims to curb “unethical practises like female foeticide and illegal trade in embryos.�
Starting May 2001, a 15 memeber expert team drew the guidelines. Dr NC Saxena, Deputy DG, ICMR on phone from Delhi told Times News Network that “in the future no ART clinic would be able to opearte unless it has obtained a temporary license. The license will be confirmed only if the clinic obtains accreditation from the ICMR or the regional accreditation committee within 2 years.�
Adding that “this was an effort to match international standards, after all they deal with the genesis of humanity “ Dr Saxena said the monitoring and enforcement procedures would be carried out by appropriate government authorities at the state level once the guidelines are approved.�
Though awareness about guidelines is low, majority of the city experts in this field have welcomed the suggestions saying that lack of “clear guidelines often hampered good work� and a “central agency for supervision of performance was necessary�. Dr Geeta Khanna, gynaecologist said that “there was an urgent need to address ethical issues where legislation has not kept pace with advances in science, couples never want to know the family background of donors, but what if the child wants to know it. The step was much awaited.� Dr Vineeta Das, gynaecologist at the King George’s Medical College welcomed the provision of regional level debates before the finalisation of the document and said that “it would provide doctors in the city to share real time problems�.
However, scepticism about the viability of the guidelines and their enforcement is not entirely missing.