General duties of assisted reproductive technology clinics and banks

Section 21 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 deals with general duties of assisted reproductive technology clinics and banks. The clinics and banks shall perform the following duties, namely:--- (a) the clinics and banks shall ensure that commissioning couple, woman and donors of gametes are eligible to avail the assisted reproductive technology procedures subject to such criteria as may be prescribed; The Act came into force on 25 Jan 2022.

The clinics and banks shall perform the following duties, namely:---

(a) the clinics and banks shall ensure that commissioning couple, woman and donors of gametes are eligible to avail the assisted reproductive technology procedures subject to such criteria as may be prescribed;

(b) the clinics shall obtain donor gametes from the banks and such banks shall ensure that the donor has been medically tested for such diseases as may be prescribed;

(c) the clinics shall---

(i) provide professional counselling to commissioning couple and woman about all the implications and chances of success of assisted reproductive technology procedures in the clinic;

(ii) inform the commissioning couple and woman of the advantages, disadvantages and cost of the procedures, their medical side effects, risks including the risk of multiple pregnancy; and

(iii) help the commissioning couple or woman to arrive at an informed decision on such matters that would most likely be the best for the commissioning couple;

(d) the clinics shall make commissioning couple or woman, aware of the rights of a child born through the use of assisted reproductive technology;

(e) the clinics and banks shall ensure that information about the commissioning couple, woman and donor shall be kept confidential and the information about treatment shall not be disclosed to anyone except to the database to be maintained by the National Registry, in a medical emergency at the request of the commissioning couple to whom the information relates, or by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction;

(f) every clinic and every bank shall maintain a grievance cell in respect of matters relating to such clinics and banks and the manner of making a compliant before such grievance cell shall be such as may be prescribed;

(g) the clinics shall apply the assisted reproductive technology services,---

(i) to a woman above the age of twenty-one years and below the age of fifty years;

(ii) to a man above the age of twenty-one years and below the age of fifty-five years;

(h) the clinics shall issue to the commissioning couple or woman a discharge certificate stating details of the assisted reproductive technology procedure performed on the commissioning couple or woman;

(i) all clinics and banks shall co-operate and make available their premises for physical inspection by the National Board, National Registry and State Boards;

(j) all clinics and banks shall provide all information related to---

(i) enrolment of the commissioning couple, woman and gamete donors;

(ii) the procedure being undertaken; and

(iii) outcome of the procedure, complications, if any, to the National Registry periodically, in such manner as may be prescribed.

Section 21, The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (Act 42 of 2021).