31 Jan 2012
By: MELISSA PANG
BY JAN 1 next year, all assisted reproduction centres must be certified to conform with standards established by Australia’s Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee.
The additional licensing terms and conditions, published in a Jan 3 letter on the Ministry of Health’s (MOH’s) website, state that every centre has to be re-certified every two years following its initial certification.
The certifying bodies include BSI Group (Australia and New Zealand) and International Standards Certification.
This latest measure follows revised guidelines on licensing terms and conditions released by MOH last April.
The revised guidelines, with changes taking effect last July and October, were aimed at boosting standards in clinical practices and workflow processes after an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) botch at Thomson Fertility Centre in late 2010.
Key additions include a list of proper laboratory practices and stringent counter-checking of specimen identification.
There are 10 assisted reproduction clinics in public hospitals and the private sector. In 2009, 3,271 women received treatment, resulting in 1,158 successful births.
A cycle of IVF treatment costs between $8,000 and $11,000 at public hospitals and up to $15,000 at private centres. Subsidies of up to $3,000 a cycle are available for patients in public hospitals.
Assisted reproduction made headlines over a year ago when a baby, conceived via IVF at Thomson Fertility Centre, turned out to be the result of a laboratory mix-up. A Chinese-Singaporean and her Caucasian husband noticed that their baby had a darker complexion, and a test showed the baby had the mother’s DNA make-up but not the father’s.
A complaint was filed with MOH and the centre was suspended from taking in new patients. It was later fined a maximum sum of $20,000 for failing to ensure that suitable practices were followed.
The mix-up occurred as it had processed two sperm specimens at the same workstation at the same time.
Associate Professor Tan Hak Koon, who heads the Singapore General Hospital’s obstetrics and gynaecology department, said SGH does not foresee any problems in getting the accreditation.
Thomson Fertility Centre medical director Loh Seong Feei said that since the lifting of its suspension last June, it has “continued to observe and monitor the more stringent protocols put in place”.
He also expressed confidence in obtaining the certification before the stipulated deadline of next Jan 1.
But Professor Ng Soon-Chye of O&G Partners Fertility Centre at Gleneagles Hospital said that while such auditing is good for maintaining high standards, there is a need to move towards auditing by professional bodies in Singapore as such expertise is available here.
He added: “Auditing bodies from overseas are very expensive, and this will only raise the overall cost of assisted reproductive procedures in Singapore, and therefore will result in an increase in the cost for the patient.”
Email: melpang@sph.com.sg
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