Human embryos, gametes, and gonad tissues exports allowed with condition

New Delhi, June 12: The government on Friday said exports of human embryos, gametes, and gonad tissues are permitted subject to no-objection-certificate from ICMR.

Earlier, there was no policy or clarity on exports of these items, according to a source. "Human embryos/gametes/gonad tissues are free for export subject to no objection certificate from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

The DGFT said it has amended the export policy of human embryos under chapter 5, schedule-2 (export policy).

This chapter deals with products of animal origin. It has inserted a new entry in this chapter, which mentions about human embryos/gametes/gonad tissues . While gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, gonads are the primary reproductive organs.