I largely agree with you Theresa. While at the Annual Meeting, I met with several ASRM officials imploring them to actually begin policing their members and non-members alike. As it stands now, the policing is non-existent. The ASRM needs to do more than just expelling members who flagrantly disregard their guidelines. They need to actively go after professionals and agencies who represent that they are ASRM compliant when they are neither members nor compliant. It is the ultimate form of false advertising as these professionals and agencies gain legitimacy from the ASRM imprimatur while ignoring the most basic of guidelines.

By the way, I did not see your press release. Do you have a link?

Thank you for the kind words Amy and your thoughtful comment.

My experience with New York might be different than yours and Theresa’s. I have had a number of agencies and physicians complain about the arduous review process they experienced when applying for a New York license. In fact, I have had several clinics complain bitterly about physical audits performed by New York at the license application stage or random inspections that have been conducted during the year. While I agree the license renewal is largely perfunctory, the initial application process requires that the applicant provide considerable information – information which is unavailable in any other state.

What ultimately is impressive about New York is the unwillingness of physicians to work with an unlicensed agency. I think we all agree that ASRM has little or no policing at the moment (and this will likely not change in the short-term). The only real ability to affect change then in this industry is to have the ultimate gate-keepers, the doctors, refuse to work with non-compliant agencies. In this regard, the licensing requirements in New York has compelled physicians to be vigilant about what donor programs they work with.