The health department of Maharashtra has set up a board to apply the state's laws on assisted reproductive technology (ART) and surrogacy.
The inaugural meeting of the board was held on November 11 at Mumbai's Arogya Bhavan. The Health Commissioner, Dheeraj Kumar, chaired the meeting. Kumar asked all municipal corporations and district administrations to form local committees to supervise ART and surrogacy within their respective areas.
The board will ensure transparency through regular review of applications received via an online system. Prompt action will be taken when necessary. The board also plans to request that the state government include ART treatment under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Yojana.
As per the laws, all facilities offering ART and surrogacy services need to be registered. The board will assign unique registration numbers and manage inspection reports from institutions in the state.
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, which came into effect on December 25, 2021, allows altruistic surrogacy but bans commercial surrogacy. The Act aims to regulate surrogacy at a national level by setting up a national surrogacy board, state surrogacy boards, and authorities in the country.
Both the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act aim to govern the rapidly growing reproductive medicine industry by defining access to ART, treatments such as vitro fertilisation and surrogacy, requirements for gamete donation and surrogacy, and clinic operational standards.
Share
Tweet
