Final Report (all chapters)

whereas in Britain they must be renewed periodically. The Canadian approach to licensing,
unlike its British counterpart, does not distinguish between licenses to perform ART procedures
and licenses to store and distribute gametes and embryos. The Canadian approach to the
licensing of reproductive medicine is of course much stricter than its U.S. counterpart, in which
reproductive endocrinologists may be (but often are not required to be) specifically licensed to
perform ART procedures on a state-by-state basis, and where no such licensing requirements
exist at the federal level.
AHRA Sections 14 through 19 establish what may be called a system of health monitoring.
A key concept of this system is “health reporting information,” a term that in the act identifies
what information ART practitioners must report to federal regulators. Health reporting
information is a comprehensive concept that refers mainly to individuals. Individuals affected by
reporting requirements fall into two categories. In the first, the AHRA includes donors of
gametes and embryos, persons who have undergone an ART treatment (namely, the patients),
and persons conceived through ART (i.e., the ART children proper). 57 Information regarding
these individuals includes biographical, medical, and legal elements. The second category
consists of individuals responsible for the custody of gametes and embryos.
The AHRA stops short of requiring the implementation of a comprehensive tracking system
that includes both affected individuals and reproductive tissues. The regulatory agency is
required to establish and maintain a personal health information registry. However, the reporting
requirements are limited to individuals directly affected by ART procedures – i.e., donors of
reproductive tissues, patients, and ART children. 58 It appears that the act does not attempt to
track the history of each and every in vitro embryo. Section 15(3)(1) does, however, mandate
that regulators be notified when in vitro embryos are transferred between licensees. Reproductive
tissues are not affected by this requirement. Section 18 defines the purposes of these reporting
requirements, calling for regulators to use health reporting information for enforcement and for
public health purposes.
The AHRA specifies in some detail the rules governing the collection, access, and disclosure
of health reporting information. A licensee is not allowed to accept donated gametes or embryos
without obtaining the relevant health reporting information. 59 Conversely, the licensee is not
allowed to disclose health reporting information without written consent of the individual whose
information would be disclosed. 60 In addition, a person is entitled to obtain access to his or her
own health reporting information, and to request that any corrections be made to his or her health
reporting information. 61 Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, the regulations to implement
these provisions have not yet been finalized. The types of information to be regarded as critical
57
58
59
60
61
See Section 3 – definitions.
See Section 17.
See Section 14.
See Section 15.
See Section 16.
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