States get voluntary fertility clinic guidelines
States get voluntary fertility clinic guidelines
Would create parity, provide accreditation tool
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC, released a set of quality guidelines for fertility clinics in late July.
The guidelines would help establish parity among the nation’s 300 unrelated fertility clinics and give states a tool to accredit the clinics. Also, some states may regulate the industry following recent high-profile examples of mix-ups. A New York woman recently gave birth to twins, for example, but one child was the genetic child of another couple.
"We know no one can ever guarantee that every couple who turns to a fertility clinic will be pleased with the results of the treatment. But using this model, the state governments can reassure those couples that the clinics they’re using are living up to the highest standards of quality," says Donna Shalala, U.S. Secretary of Health.
The guidelines focus on the areas of lab procedures and equipment, record keeping, and personnel qualifications. Birmingham, AL-based American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which represents 90% of the U.S. clinics, endorses the standards.
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