UC Task Force to Examine System’s Fertility Programs

University of California President Jack W. Peltason has appointed a task force to conduct a “comprehensive review” of assisted reproductive technology throughout the UC system because of concerns raised by the UC Irvine fertility scandal, officials announced Thursday.

“Part of the problem under which we labor is that the technology in this area is evolving so rapidly that the usual standards and guidelines one would hope to have in place are not all . . . in place,” said Cornelius Hopper, vice president for health affairs for the University of California.

“It’s important that the university not wait around and wait for those to appear on our doorstep.”

The 13-member committee, which met for the first time during a three-hour session at UC headquarters in Oakland on Thursday, is charged with reviewing mechanisms for oversight of clinical care and research and determining whether they ensure high ethical standards.

In addition, the panel will develop an inventory of UC programs that use assisted reproductive technologies and recommend standards and guidelines, if necessary.

Hopper, who is not on the committee, stressed that it will not be investigating the UC Irvine controversy; rather, it will focus on systemwide issues. But Hopper acknowledged the committee’s formation is “certainly in response to concerns unearthed by the UC Irvine situation.”

UCI has accused three of its once-prized physicians of misappropriating human eggs and embryos as well as financial and research misconduct. The scandal, which may involve at least 35 patients, has garnered national headlines and rocked the largely unregulated field of reproductive technology.

The task force, appointed by Peltason on July 17, will meet at least four times and is expected to produce a report by Jan. 1, Hopper said.

The panel will be co-chaired by Dr. Bernard Lo, a professor of medicine and director of medical ethics at UC San Francisco, and Iris Litt, a professor of pediatrics and director of adolescent medicine at Stanford University.

Committee members include retired California Supreme Court Justice Allen Broussard and two academicians from UCI: Dr. Anne Spence, from the department of pediatrics and division of human genetics, and Dr. Samuel Wilson, professor and chairman of the department of surgery.