In its official dispatch to departments of Health in provinces and cities, hospitals, the Military Medical Department under the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Health required medical establishments that are allowed to practice in vitro fertilization and surrogacy to strengthen measures to prevent confusion or exchange, sale and purchase of sperm/oocytes/embryos by perfecting the process of preventing sperm/ovum/embryo confusion and disseminating it to all employees.
The Ministry of Health encouraged healthcare establishments to use software to manage cases of sperm/ovum/embryo donation/receiving, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy for humanitarian purposes. Infirmaries were required to develop procedures for transporting and receiving sperm, ovum, and embryos between hospitals and regularly checking to prevent swapping.
According to the Ministry of Health, 45 domestic and non-public reproductive support establishments are set up nationwide. Therefore, in order to prevent commercial surrogacy at these hospitals that are qualified to perform this technique, the indications for surrogacy should be carefully reviewed and signed by hospital managers.
Reponsible agencies and localities to strengthen inspection and supervision of the implementation of the law on in vitro fertilization and surrogacy for humanitarian purposes in their localities and organizations. If law violations are detected, it is necessary to immediately report them to the Ministry of Health for dealing with them.
The Ministry of Health also noted that, in order to ensure the identification of the kinship relationship between the surrogate mother and the person requesting surrogacy in addition to the certification of the Commune People's Committee, the hospital can ask the family to provide relevant papers.
Furthermore, infirmaries are encouraged to sign contracts with law firms for legal advice, in which there should be sufficient terms to bind responsibility for legal advice.
Commercial surrogacy refers to any surrogacy arrangement in which the surrogate mother is compensated for her services beyond reimbursement of medical expenses.
