New ART regulations The Health Ministry had notified the Ass | UPSC Mains 2023 Materials
New ART regulations
The Health Ministry had notified the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulations (ART), 2023 recently.
Aim
Providing donors and patients with better medical care and security.
Key provisions:
Restriction on donation: The new ART provisions impose restrictions on the number of times a donor, male or female, can donate (sperm/oocyte) in their lifetime, and specifies age limits for donors.
Criteria for a donor: The provision states that an oocyte donor should be a person who have been married at least once in their lives and have at least one living child of her own (minimum three years of age). She can donate oocyte only once in her lifetime and not more than seven oocytes can be retrieved.
Restrictions on bank: An ART bank cannot supply gamete (reproductive cell) of a single donor to more than one commissioning couple (couple seeking services).
Insurance coverage: Parties seeking ART services will be required to provide insurance coverage in the favour of the oocyte donor (for any loss, damage, or death of the donor).
Prohibition on sex determination: A clinic is prohibited from offering to provide a child of pre-determined sex.
Checking for diseases: Checking for genetic diseases before the embryo implantation is needed.
Concerns
The new provisions have pushed up the already sky-high medical costs.
It is proving to be a challenge for treating doctors and couples wanting to have children through ART because of the restricted and limited resource availability in terms of donors.
The new ART laws are restricting the number of donation attempts.
Conclusion
They have the potential to increase costs and create challenges for couples relying on assisted reproductive techniques.
India, much like the rest of the world, is facing a dip in fertility rates and further limiting available donors is likely to bring in more challenges.
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