Only 402 IVF facilities register

There are more than 3,000 fertility clinics in India but only 402 facilities are registered with the National Registry of Assisted Reproductive Technology established by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The fertility clinics are more in metro cities and there is a need to regulate them till the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill is approved by Parliament.

The need for regulation comes as there are tall claims of 80 per cent success rate being showcased by these clinics which is not true, according to senior fertility specialists. The average success rate globally is 35 to 40 per cent and the claim of 80 per cent is only being looked at as a marketing gimmick.

Only 12 techniques have been listed as a part of the registration which include artificial insemination with husband’s semen, donor semen, intra-uterine insemination using husband semen and donor semen and in vitro fer ti lisa ti on embryo transfer (IVF).

A senior fertility specialist on condition of anonymity explained, “The ICMR has been taking a lot of data from the clinics which are registered with them and trying to draw the draft guidelines. They need to streamline the process at the central level which will then make it easy for clinics to register. The new clinics which are coming up have enrolled for registration but the process is very cumbersome.”

The registration requires infrastructure facilities, skilled manpower and an update on the number of procedures undertaken and then the verification is carried out by the authorities, which is time-consuming.

According to estimates by the World Health Organisation, there are about 19 million infertile couples in India.

THE NEED for regulation comes as there are tall claims of 80 per cent success rate being showcased by these clinics which is not true