3. Are MAP procedures covered by the social security system? Yes. 

MAP procedures are covered by the National Health care system and by co-payments. The (outpatient) clinic where the MAP procedure is conducted is financed as follows:

• Fee-for-service reimbursement from the National Insurance Scheme based on the treatments of IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedures
• en bloc subsidies from the state
• Co-payments from the patients, the woman/couple pays maximum NOK 18800 to cover some medicines and treatment costs for IVF/ICSI. The couples are usually offered three treatment cycles (three IVF or ICSI procedures, or a combination) per child.

4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage? Yes. 

All couples that are offered MAP have a right to partial coverage of the medicines and treatment costs for IVF/ICSI treatment, limited to three attempts per child.

As a first step in the process, the woman/couple will consult their family physician. Based on a medical and psychosocial evaluation of the woman/couple the physician will decide whether to recommend the couple to one of the clinics offering MAP. The physician at the clinic decides whether or not the woman/couple will be offered MAP. According to the Biotechnology Act, a clinic offering MAP needs authorisation or approval from the Directorate of Health.

To have access to MAP through the clinics financed by the national health care system, an evaluation of the presumed cost-effectiveness of the treatment for the woman/couple is carried out, 

Many clinics have established guidelines for evaluation of couples asking for medically assisted procreation. 

Women/couples may also choose to pay for treatment in private clinics, this may provide shorter waiting time, and these clinics are not bound by the same principles of cost-efficiency.

A woman cannot be older than 46 at the time of insemination or implantation of embryo.

5. Is the financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? Yes. Financial coverage is limited to three MAP procedures (three IVF or ICSI procedures - or a combination, where a procedure includes the retrieval of ova). Implantation of stored embryos (FER) is not counted as a “MAP procedure”.

2. Are there specific criteria for access to MAP? 

Medical reasons:

a. Infertility:

For a heterosexual couple? Yes; For women not living in a heterosexual couple? No

b. Risk of transmission of a disease

For a heterosexual couple Yes?; For women not living in a heterosexual couple? No

c. Other Yes

Criteria for access to IVF is infertility or that the woman is affected by or carrier of serious hereditary disease.

Lesbian couples and single women have access to MAP by insemination or IVF. Criteria for assisted procreation by insemination to heterosexual couples is infertility or that the man has or is carrier of serious hereditary disease. :

• the woman is a carrier of serious X-linked diseases. In such cases, the act allows that procedures for selection of sperm can be used to ensure a female offspring. Such procedures can only be accepted after thorough scientific evaluation, and must be approved by the Directorate for Health and Social affairs.
• the husband/spouse is affected by or carrier of a serious inheritable disorder
• if there is a risk of transmission of a serious and chronic sexually transmissible disease.

The act does not specify a right to treatment in cases where there is a risk of transmission of diseases such between the woman and her husband/spouse.

Regarding situation where one or both partners have a serious and chronic sexually transmitted infection: Where the woman is infected, an evaluation of the risk of transmitting the virus to the child must be made in each case before it is decided to proceed.

A woman cannot be older than 46 at the time of insemination or implantation of embryo.

The criteria for infertility for access to IVF does not apply in cases where same-sex couple have treatment using partner donation (one of the women donates her egg to the other who carries the child).

2.b.X linked diseases

                        Other known genetic disorders

19. Is there an important current debate in your country on these or related issues? NA

20. Delegations are invited to provide information, in this section, on particular cases encountered in their country, and especially their case-law. NA

• Title of the law: The act relating to the application of biotechnology in human medicine etc
• Adopted 5 December 2003, partly into force from 1 January 2004, 1 September 2004 and 1 January 2005. Limited use of PGD was allowed (only in cases of X-linked diseases), and research on surplus embryos was banned. An amendment in force from September 2004 allowed PGD also in cases of serious hereditary diseases for which no treatment is available. New regulations regarding PGD and research on surplus embryos entered into force in July 2008; allowing research on surplus embryos under certain conditions, and PGD or PGD/HLA in situations of serious hereditary disease.  New regulations regarding access to MAP for lesbian couples entered into force in January 2009. In 2013 the act was amended to allow MAP to otherwise fertile couples, where one person has a serious and chronic sexually transmitted infection. In 2020 single women who live alone were given access to MAP, and from 2021 oocyte donation is allowed. Egg donation is accessible only to couples able to use their own sperm. Same-sex female couples can donate oocytes to each other (partner donation) and use sperm from a donor.

16. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos anonymous?

sperm No / oocytes No / embryos NA. Sperm or oocyte donors cannot be anonymous.

17. Is it possible to obtain information about the biological origin of a child born after gametes of embryo donation? 

i. For the child him or herself Yes; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No. Children born after sperm donation have the right to know the identity of their donor when they (the children) reach the age of 15 (or 18 for those born from sperm donated before 2021).

a. Identity of the donor(s)

i. For the child him or herself Yes; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No. 

b. Certain health information concerning the donor(s)

i. For the child him or herself No; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No. For donors recruited in Norway, the parents will be familiar with the general criteria for selection of a donor (good physical and mental health, no serious inheritable disease; as well as the test regimes) but will not have any other information about the donor. Norway allows import of sperm or oocytes from banks established outside of Norway, but only if they can provide sperm/oocytes from open donors, and in conformity with the relevant EC directives. Oocytes can only be imported from other Nordic countries.

c. Other information

i. For the child him or herself Yes; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No. At the age of 15 (or 18, se previous text), the child can obtain information about the identity of the donor (name and address according to the registry and if necessary, date of birth and national identity number). This is the only information that will be provided.

18. Is it possible to contest maternity and paternity of children born utilising MAP and under which conditions? Yes. 

• a child or a parent, as well as a third person who claims paternity of a child with another legal father may contest paternity in front of a court. There is no exception for children or parents of children born after MAP, but a sperm donor cannot contest paternity of a child born after MAP procedures using donated sperm.
• the donor has no legal responsibility for the child, and has no right to any information about children that have been born using his sperm (except for the maximum number).
• according to Norwegian family law provisions, the legal father of a child conceived after MAP is the one the mother is married to at birth (“pater est”). If the woman is not married, the legal father will be the man who acknowledge paternity for the child.

according to family law the woman who gave birth to a child is the child's mother.

6. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos permitted in your country? sperm Yes / oocytes Yes / embryos No. 

Donated embryos can only be used for research purposes in vitro, not for assisted reproduction.

Simultaneous use of donated egg and sperm is not allowed. An exception has been made for lesbian couples so that an oocyte may be collected from one of the women, fertilized with donor sperm, and the resulting embryo implanted into the womb of the other woman in the couple.

7. Are there specific compensation arrangements for donations of sperm/oocytes/embryos? Yes. National guidelines set maximum amount for compensation to donors. In addition to documented travel expenses, sperm donors may receive NOK 750 and oocyte donors NOK 5300 per donation. Amounts have been set to compensate donors for their time and possible inconveniences incurred by the donation.

8. Are there specific criteria for donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos? sperm Yes / oocytes Yes / embryos No. 

Criteria for donation of sperm:

• good health (both physical and mental) and “normal” sperm
• no known contagious diseases (as required by the EU directives on quality and safety of tissues and cells)
• no known serious inheritable diseases (based on the donors information. No chromosomal analysis or tests for single gene disorders will performed)
• must be over 18 and ideally between 25 and 45 years of age

Criteria for donation of oocytes:

• good health (both physical and mental) and “normal” egg reserves, hormonal status and no indication of infertility on ultrasound
• no known serious inheritable diseases (based on donor information from donor. No chromosomal analysis or tests for single gene disorders will performed)
• must be between 25 and 35 years of age

To prevent the use of sperm from diseased donors and to ensure that information about the donor (name, address) can be provided to the child when reaching 15 years of age, Norwegian citizenship or permanent habitual permission is required.

There will be an interview to ensure that the decision of the donor has the necessary maturity and an altruistic motivation and to ensure that the donor understands the consequences and is informed that future children may make contact. The donor must give a written consent. If the consent is withdrawn, unused sperm/oocytes must be destroyed.

Donation of embryos is forbidden.

Testing of donors follow the procedures and criteria set out in the EU Directives on tissues and cells.

9. Are there specific non-medical criteria for selection of gametes/embryos to be used for MAP? Yes. The Biotechnology Act requires that the attending physician select a suitable donor. It is recommended that the physician chooses a donor that has a close physical resemblance to the parents-to-be. Donors should not be chosen based on other criteria.  

10. Are there special measures for the prevention of consanguinity? Yes. 

A national registry of donors has been established to enable children that are conceived in Norway by donor sperm or donor oocyte to know the identity of the donor when reaching the age of 15 (or 18 for those born from gametes donated before 2021),

Sperm from one donor can be used by up to 6 families, this is specified in the consent form. The number of donation cycles for an oocyte donor is limited to 3. There is no maximum number of families.

11. In a homosexual couple, is a legal relationship possible between a child and the partner of the legal parent? Yes. Rules of parentage for the second mother (the women not giving birth) have been established.

1. Is access to medically assisted procreation (MAP)

a. restricted to heterosexual couples? No

b. possible for women not living in a heterosexual couple? Yes. Lesbian couples have had access to MAP since 2009. Single women who live alone have access to MAP since 2021.