HONG KONG: China will “severely crack down” on illegal activities related to the use of assisted reproductive technologies such as the buying or selling of sperm or eggs and surrogacy, in a six-month campaign to assuage widespread public concern.
Fourteen government ministries including the country’s National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement that assisted reproductive technology can only be used in the country’s 543 approved medical institutions.
“In recent years there have been illegal applications of fertility technology from time to time which has aroused widespread concern in society,” a statement from the NHC said.
In order to standardise the application of assisted human reproductive technologies, the government said it will focus on suppressing illegal and criminal activities including forgery and buying and selling of birth medical certificates from June to December this year.
“The illegal use of human assisted reproductive technology such as surrogacy and illegal collection of eggs seriously damages women’s health and rights,” the NHC said.