The National Registry of ART Clinics in India, launched by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in March last year as part of its efforts to put in place a comprehensive and authentic central database about the number of ART clinics in the country, has evoked tremendous response from the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics in the country.

Even though registration with the National Registry of ART Clinics is voluntary as of now, a large number of ART clinics in different part of the country have come forward to be part of the registry,  sources in the ICMR said.  The ICMR established the Registry in India with a view to providing appropriate help and assistance to all those who are engaged in taking care of infertility problems in the country.

For the thousands of ART clinics located in the nook and corner of the country, registration with the Registry, which is free of any fees and is voluntary now, will become mandatory in the country once the ART Bill becomes an Act.   The ART Bill, being formulated by the union health ministry to regulate thousands of infertility clinics that have mushroomed in the country over the years, is likely to be introduced during the next session of Parliament.

The main objective of launching the Registry is that by the time the ART Bill becomes an Act, the ICMR wanted to prepare a comprehensive and authentic central database about the number of ART clinics in the country. As of now, even though thousands of infertility clinics have mushroomed in the country over the last some years, the government does not have an authentic data about the number of infertility (ART) clinics in the country.

The ART clinics which are engaged in taking care of infertility problems in the country through the practice of any of the 12 techniques should register with the ICMR's National Registry of ART Clinics in India. These techniques include Artificial Insemination with Husband’s Semen (AIH), Artificial Insemination with Donor Semen (AID), Intra-uterine Insemination using Husband Semen (IUI-H), Intra-uterine Insemination using Donor Semen (IUI-D) and In Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer (IVF).

The list of techniques also include Gamete Intrafallopian Tube Transfer (GIFT), Tubal Embryo Transfer (TET), Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (PESA), Testicular Sperm Aspiration (TESA), Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE) and Processing or storage of gametes (sperm and oocyte) and or embryos.