Maharashtra government seeks suggestions on regulating IVF centres, surrogacy

Maharashtra government has invited suggestions from both government and private In-Vitro Fertility (IVF) centres to strengthen the existing laws and regulate these establishments.

These days anybody can open up Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) IVF centre and there is no regulation on it, state health minister Deepak Sawant said.

At present, the ART IVF centres are regulated under the Mumbai Nursing Home Act and Clinical Establishment Act. "The Centre has always welcomed good suggestions from Maharashtra. The Centre has in the past adopted the PCPNDT Act that bans pre-natal diagnostic tests," he said.

The state government has now invited suggestions from government as well as private ART IVF centres in a bid to regulate them, he said. There needs to be regulations in the area of establishments, use of equipment, the IVF procedures they adopt, guidelines to be followed for registration, what protocol they need to adopt, para-medical staff, etc, he said.

"Besides these, there also needs to be a check on the doctors and their qualifications," the minister said.

At present, there are around 525 ART IVF centres in the state, out of which Mumbai has 120, Pune 135, Nagpur 70, Nashik 14, Satara 17, Aurangabad 16, and the remaining in various other districts, Sawant said.

Presently, the ART IVF centres have to fill up form 'F' before starting the procedures, he informed.

"The government wants to ensure that the mother should be medically certified as infertile before the couple can opt for ART IVF procedure," Sawant said.

Regarding the surrogacy laws, he said the government needs to ensure that surrogate mothers are not exploited for monetary considerations.