to assess persons' eligibility for sterilization, the alberta government created the alberta eugenics board, headed by university of alberta psychologist, john m. maceachran, one year after the enactment of the ssaa. board members persistently searched the province for prospective subjects, and thus frequently found themselves visiting the pts. whether or not an individual was suited for sterilization was decided by a panel of 4 people (2 medical professionals and 2 laypeople13), formed by the alberta eugenics board, who presented patients with a single psychological test. answers to this informal, interview-style test, including questions, such as, "at what age does a child begin to walk?," and, "how do you like it here?", guided the board's 10-minute review of each case. patients rarely had knowledge of the true purpose of the meetings; even on the day of their surgery, they were often only told that their appendix would be removed. most would not discover what had been done to them at the pts until years after leaving the school and, for some, the news came after several unsuccessful attempts to conceive. initially, the procedure required consent from the patient or from a parent or guardian, but this pre-requisite was repeatedly ignored after 1937. sometimes, authorization forms, required for surgeries to be carried out, were signed by officials before any assessments had been conducted.