ENG-2006 — Page 218

178 | Health

Chinese Medicines

The subsidiary legislation on Chinese medicines was passed by the Legislative Council in April 2003. Since then, any persons engaged in retail or wholesale of Chinese herbal medicines, manufacture or wholesale of proprietary Chinese medicines (pCm), are required to be licensed. Any pCm sold, imported or possessed in Hong Kong must be registered. The Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong is now the responsible body for devising and implementing regulatory measures for Chinese medicine. Applications for Chinese medicine trader licences and for registration of proprietary Chinese medicines have been opened since April 2003. By the end of 2006, 8 554 and 16 143 applications were received respectively.

Organ Transplantation

Under the Human Organ Transplant Ordinance, transplant of human organs and importation of human organs for transplant purposes are regulated, and commercial dealings in human organs intended for transplant are prohibited. Approval from the statutory Human Organ Transplant Board is required for transplantation of human organs between persons who are not genetically related or a couple whose marriage has subsisted for not more than three years. The board also collects certain information about transplant operations in prescribed statutory forms.

In 2006, the board received 25 applications for organ transplants between living non-related persons. No organs were imported into Hong Kong for transplant purposes during 2006.

Human Reproductive Technology

Human reproductive technology activities are regulated to ensure safety of the procedures and welfare of the child born with such technology. The Human Reproductive Technology Ordinance3, enacted in 2000, confines the application of reproductive technology procedures to infertile married couples, regulates surrogacy arrangements and the use of embryos and gametes for research and other purposes, and prohibits commercial dealings in gametes or embryos and using donated gametes in surrogacy arrangement. The use of reproductive technology in permitted. circumstances is regulated through a licensing system to be administered by the Council on Human Reproductive Technology established under the ordinance. For the purpose of regulating human reproductive technology activities, the council has made reference to international practices and consulted with the reproductive technology profession, social workers, legal practitioners, academia and ethical groups to draw up a code of practice setting out requirements, standards and best practices for embryo researchers and reproductive technology practitioners.

Port Health

To prevent the introduction of quarantinable diseases and other serious infectious diseases into Hong Kong via air, land or sea immigration control points, the Port Health Office under the Department of Health enforces measures stipulated by

3

The provisions in the ordinance on prohibitions, licensing and enforcement have yet to come into operation. These parts of the ordinance are expected to commence together with the relevant subsidiary legislation setting out licensing procedures in 2007.