ENG-2007 — Page 222

174 Health

(pCm), is required to obtain a licence. 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 accepted since April 2003. By the end of 2007, 9 052 and 16 197 applications respectively were received.

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 2007, the board received a total of 16 applications for organ transplants between living non-related persons. No organs were imported into Hong Kong for transplant purposes during 2007.

Human Reproductive Technology

Human reproductive technology activities are regulated to ensure the procedures are conducted in a safe and informed manner, and to safeguard the welfare of the child born through such technology. The Human Reproductive Technology Ordinance2 and regulations, namely the Human Reproductive Technology (Licensing) Regulation and the Human Reproductive Technology (Fees) Regulation, came into full effect on August 1, 2007. Reproductive technology service providers and embryo researchers who wish to conduct relevant activities as regulated by the ordinance should obtain a licence for the activity issued by the Council on Human Reproductive Technology. The ordinance 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. For the purpose of regulating human reproductive technology activities, the council has made reference to international practices and has drawn up a code of practice setting out the requirements, standards and good practices for embryo researchers and reproductive technology practitioners in consultation with the reproductive technology profession, social workers, legal practitioners, academia and ethical groups.

Port Health

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

2 Except Section 33(4)(a) of the ordinance.