Two independent committees responsible for formulating advice and guidelines and determining applications for assisted reproductive procedures or human reproductive research have issued their separate annual reports to the Minister of Health for 2008/09.

Professor Sylvia Rumball, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology, said ACART's annual report (http://www.acart.health.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexcm/acart-resources-publications-annualreport200809) described its wide-ranging activities in 2008/09.

ACART's work last year included conducting public consultation on four major policy areas: the use of frozen eggs in fertility treatment, draft guidelines on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis with HLA tissue typing, draft guidelines on the use of embryos created from donated eggs with donated sperm, and the use of in vitro maturation in fertility treatment.

ACART is an independent advisory committee responsible for formulating advice and guidelines for the regulation of aspects of assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Kate Davenport, Chair of the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology, said ECART's annual report (http://www.ecart.health.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexcm/ecart-resources-publications-annualreport200809) outlined the 30 applications for assisted reproductive procedures that the Committee considered in the last financial year. These included 18 applications for surrogacy, nine applications for gamete donation between certain family members, and three applications for embryo donation for reproductive purposes.

Of the 30 applications, 19 were approved outright, nine were approved subject to conditions, and two were deferred (one of these was subsequently approved whilst the other was declined).

"In 2010, ECART will continue to face ongoing issues in meeting the needs of consumers for a flexible, swift and ethical approach to applications for assisted reproductive technology," Ms Davenport said. "These issues are all the more evident given that advances in science and ART techniques inevitably move more rapidly than legislation."

ECART considers and determines applications for assisted reproductive procedures or human reproductive research and keeps under review approvals previously given. It also liaises with ACART and other relevant ethics committees on matters relating to assisted reproductive procedures and human reproductive research.