Guidelines and advice issued to the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology

Resources

Guidelines and advice issued to the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology

Some procedures do not need ethical approval on a case-by-case basis - view further information on established procedures (legislation.knowledge-basket.co.nz).

Other procedures can proceed only if the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ACART) has issued guidelines or advice to the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ECART).

ACART has issued the following guidelines and advice to ECART under section 35 of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004. Decisions of ECART must be consistent with the guidelines and advice.

Guidelines issued to ECART

Guidelines on Extending the Storage Period of Gametes and Embryos - Date of publication: Sept 2012
ACART has now issued Guidelines on Extending the Storage Period of Gametes and Embryos to the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ECART). The Guidelines come into effect from 3 September 2012, and cover the matters ECART must take into account when considering applications to extend the storage period of eggs, sperm and embryos beyond 10 years or beyond an approved extended storage period.

Guidelines on Surrogacy Arrangements involving Providers of Fertility Services - Date of publication: November 2007 - Republished November 2008
Surrogacy involves a woman agreeing to carry a child for another couple on the basis that she will pass the child to them to raise from birth*. The woman who will carry the child is called the ‘birth mother', ‘surrogate mother', or ‘gestational surrogate'.

International Surrogacy (PDF, 92 KB) - updated July 2011
Information sheet about international surrogacy, from the Department of Internal Affairs, Child, Youth and Family, and Immigration New Zealand.

Guidelines on donations of Eggs or Sperm between Certain Family Members - First date of publication: November 2007 - Republished November 2008 - Republished December 2010
Fertility providers need to seek ethical approval from ECART for most cases of gamete donation between family members (except where the egg donor is the sister or cousin of the patient, or the sperm donor is the brother or cousin of the patient's partner or spouse)

Embryo Donation for Reproductive Purposes - Date of publication: November 2008.
Embryo donation is the donation by a couple, who have surplus embryos created through their own fertility treatment, of one or more of those embryos to an infertile couple or individual.

Guidelines on the Creation and Use, for Reproductive Purposes, of an Embryo created from Donated Eggs in conjunction with Donated Sperm Date of publication December 2010
Fertility providers need to seek ECART approval to use donated eggs in conjunction with donated sperm

Advice issued to ECART

Advice on Combined Assisted Reproductive Procedures (PDF, 28 KB) - Date of publication: November 2008
This advice has been provided to ECART to allow it to consider an application to use two assisted reproductive procedures (for example donation of egg from a family member with a surrogacy arrangement). An assisted reproductive procedure is a procedure that requires case by case approval by ECART before it can proceed.

Advice Issued About an Embryo Donation Case - 28 May 2010 (Word, 81 KB)

The following guidelines have been reissued to ECART as advice:

** Guidelines for Research on Gametes and Non-Viable Embryos (PDF, 174 KB) - Date of publication: June 2005 (PDF, 174 KB). Approved by the National Ethics Advisory Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction in June 05.

** Guidelines on Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis - Date of publication: March 2005.
PGD is a procedure used in conjunction with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to test early human embryos for serious inherited genetic conditions and chromosomal abnormalities before they are transferred to a woman's uterus.

** Guidelines on the Use, Storage and Disposal of Sperm from a Deceased Man - Date of publication: February 2000. These guidelines cover the use, storage and disposal of sperm from a deceased man, taking into account a range of cultural, ethical and legal issues.

Footnotes:
* Definition from the report of the Ministerial Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Assisted Human Reproduction: Navigating our Future, Wellington, 1994, paragraph 7.2.
** Please note: These guidelines were developed prior to the commencement of the HART Act. The guidelines should be read in conjunction with the HART Act 2004 and HART Order 2005. Parts of the guidelines may be superseded by the provisions of the HART Act and HART Order.

Page last updated: 3 September 2012