Manish Kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Oct 19: The recent suggestion by the Supreme Court for a rethink on commercial surrogacy and the dearth of legislation to regulate the infertility treatments sector have sparked a debate in the state about the need to regulate the sector.
In the absence of any law, the infertility sector functions through a set of guidelines framed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2005. The resulting laxity has given free hands to several clinics to exploit infertile couples. Cases of such exploitations are not new to Orissa.
Eight months ago, a group of nine infertile couples moved Orissa State Commission for Women to register their complaint about alleged cheating by city-based private Test-Tube Baby Centre.
They complained of fraudulent claims made by the clinic that allegedly assured them 100 per cent success whereas Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is known to offer 40-50 per cent success at best.
Orissa is home to six ART clinics, out of which only two have registered with ICMR. Experts say lack of a stringent law has given many operators in the sector a free hand.
“As per the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) dated July 9, 2012, it is necessary for ART clinic to register with ICMR. Unregistered clinics cannot entertain any foreign couple for the treatment of infertility,” said ICMR deputy director general Dr R S Sharma to Orissa POST.
Although the proposed ART (Regulation) Bill makes it mandatory for all ART clinics to register with the ICMR National Registry, the bill is yet to be passed by Parliament, he added.
City-based IVF specialist Dr P N Mohanty, whose clinic at Chanrashekharpur is registered with ICMR, said no specific permission is needed to set up ART clinics. “They are voluntarily governed by ICMR norms, but many flout them. Most ART clinics do not register with ICMR as they have to show their location and report the results in their treatment,” he said.
The draft ART (Regulation) Bill, 2010 talks about mandatory registration, national database, regulatory authorities, penalties and cancellation of licence in case of violations of specified laws.
