6. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos permitted in your country? Yes
7. Are there specific compensation arrangements for donations of sperm/oocytes/embryos? No.
Article 28 (paragraph 1-3) regulates Prohibition of Gain from BMAF Procedures
Prohibitions referred to in paragraph 1 to 3 above shall not be applicable to:
1) living donor compensation for loss of earnings or other income for time spent in a medical institution or during recovery, or during temporary inability to work, or compensation for other eligible expenses that the donor has had due to the procedure of retrieval of reproductive cells (transport, accommodation, food costs etc.);
2) eligible compensation in connection with payment for medical or other services related to retrieval of reproductive cells;
3) compensation in the event of excessive damage arising from the retrieval of reproductive cells.
8. Are there specific criteria for donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos? Yes
9. Are there specific non-medical criteria for selection of gametes/embryos to be used for MAP? NA
10. Are there special measures for the prevention of consanguinity? Yes
11. In a homosexual couple, is a legal relationship possible between a child and the partner of the legal parent? No
19. Is there an important current debate in your country on these or related issues? N/A
20. Delegations are invited to provide information, in this section, on particular cases encountered in their country, and especially their case-law. N/A
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:
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 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).
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
6. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos permitted in your country? sperm Yes/oocytes Yes/embryos No
See http://eng.heilbrigdisraduneyti.is/laws-and-regulations/nr/686
7. Are there specific compensation arrangements for donations of sperm/oocytes/embryos? No
8. Are there specific criteria for donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos? sperm Yes/oocytes Yes/embryos *
* See regulation: http://eng.heilbrigdisraduneyti.is/laws-and-regulations/nr/686
(Artificial insemination with donor sperm shall only be carried out if the fertility of the man is impaired, he has a serious hereditary disease or there are other medical reasons to use of donor sperm. (Article 8)
In vitro fertilization shall only be carried out with the gamete of the couple. It is however permitted to use donor gamete if the fertility of the man or the woman is impaired, either of them has a serious hereditary disease or there are other medical reasons to use of donor gamete. It is prohibited to carry out in vitro fertilization unless the gamete of either partner or either cohabitant is used. Donation of embryos and surrogacy is prohibited. (Article 9))
9. Are there specific non-medical criteria for selection of gametes/embryos to be used for MAP? Yes. If donated gametes are used, the doctor in charge of the treatment shall select the appropriate donor. A donor of gamete shall be healthy and have no hereditary diseases. Necessary tests shall be carried out to ensure that the donor is healthy and fertile and to prevent the transmission of diseases with the gamete. If imported gametes are used, the fulfilment of the aforementioned demands must be ensured. A doctor shall endeavour to realize the wishes of applicants that the build, height, colour of eyes and hair and the blood type of the gamete donor is as closely resembling the parent's as is possible . (art.17 reg.568/1997)
10. Are there special measures for the prevention of consanguinity? Yes. Indirectly, see art.18 reg.568/1997 (If a donor wishes to remain anonymous, health workers are obliged to ensure that this is respected. In this case, the donor may neither receive information about the couple receiving the donated gamete or the child, nor the couple or the child receive information about the donor. If a donor does not wish to remain anonymous, the institution shall preserve information about him in a special file. If the donation of gamete leads to the birth of a child, information about the child and the couple who received the gamete shall be kept in the same file. A child born on account of a gamete donation where the donor does not wish to remain anonymous can at the age of 18 gain access to a file pursuant to paragraph 2 for the purpose of obtaining information about the identity of the donor. If a child receives information about the gamete donor at the institution, the said institution shall as soon as possible inform the donor that the information has been given.)
11. In a homosexual couple, is a legal relationship possible between a child and the partner of the legal parent? Yes. Art. 6, Act no. 87/1996 (The provisions of the Adoption Act relating to spouses shall not apply to registered partnership. A person in registered partnership can however adopt a child of the other partner of whom that partner has custody, provided the child has not been adopted from another country. Nor statute provisions on artificial insemination apply to registered partnership. Ni statute provisions involving particular rules depending on the sex of a married spouse shall apply to registered partnership. 1). Provisions of international agreements to which Iceland is a party shall not apply to registered partnership unless approved by the other party.)
3. Are MAP procedures covered by the social security system? Yes. Partially covered
4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage? Yes. The proportion of the payment covered by the social security system differs according to how many times treatment has been undertaken.
5. Is the financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? Yes.
For couples without a child together coverage for first treatment approx. 50%
For second to fourth treatments approx. 70%. No coverage for further treatments.
For couples with one child. Coverage for first to fourth treatment approx. 20%. No coverage for further treatments. No coverage for couples with more than one child.
1. Is access to medically assisted procreation (MAP)
a. restricted to heterosexual couples? Yes
b. possible for women not living in a heterosexual couple? No
6. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos permitted in your country? Yes
7. Are there specific compensation arrangements for donations of sperm/oocytes/embryos? No. Compensations are legally limited to only compensation of costs made for the donation.
8. Are there specific criteria for donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos? Yes.
Within the Embryos Act, there are criteria to guarantee the free consent of the donor. In addition to that, the professional Guideline states that oocyte donation is contraindicated for
These contraindications are absolute. In addition, some women have a relative contraindication to oocyte donation, for instance women who have no children themselves and are under the age of 30.
9. Are there specific non-medical criteria for selection of gametes/embryos to be used for MAP? No
10. Are there special measures for the prevention of consanguinity? Yes. There is a professional guideline that limits the number of offspring of one donor to 25 children or 12 families. Because clinics now don’t have a legal basis to check if a donor also donates in other clinics, there is a legal change in preparation which allows national registration of donors, so that the limited number of offspring can be monitored.
11. In a homosexual couple, is a legal relationship possible between a child and the partner of the legal parent? Yes. When two women are married, the second mother can easily become the legal mother. In other cases, an adoption procedure is required.
19. Is there an important current debate in your country on these or related issues? No
20. Delegations are invited to provide information, in this section, on particular cases encountered in their country, and especially their case-law. Na
3. Are MAP procedures covered by the social security system? Yes.
Yes, but partly. In case of IVF, there is a maximum of three attempts.
4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage? Yes. Age limit of woman – 42 years old.
5. Is the financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? Yes. See answer to question 3.
19. Is there an important current debate in your country on these or related issues? Yes.
Yes. The question of surrogacy was delayed due to the controversial nature of abuse of the female body, and legal consequences surrogacy is seen to cause in some cases. However it would seem that the discussion will be raised in the future for both heterosexual and homosexual couples. The Embryo Protection Act as amended does not permit the use of surrogacy and the subject is not even discussed.
Note: Having said that, as article 19, discussed above, indicates, donation of gametes is a private agreement so homosexual couples, for example, may bypass provisions by having sperm donated to them in the case of female homosexual couples, and, male homosexual couples can donated their sperm by a private agreement to a woman, who can be the surrogate (using her own ova by Artificial Insemination by Donor) and then give up the child. Article 19 of the Act seems to prohibit this under my interpretation. In any case, the law does not discuss Surrogacy so at most it can be tolerated but not protected by law when it comes to filiation.
20. Delegations are invited to provide information, in this section, on particular cases encountered in their country, and especially their case-law.
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? NA
b. Risk of transmission of a disease
For a heterosexual couple No?; For women not living in a heterosexual couple? NA
c. Other N/A
There is not a law or specific articles in the healthcare law addressing MAP or people who are not living in heterosexual couple.
3. Are MAP procedures covered by the social security system? No. MAP is not incorporated in the social security system. The drugs for infertility may be covered (80 %) only if patient is treated by the hospital facilities.
4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage? No
5. Is the financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? No
16. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos anonymous? NA
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 ; ii. For the parents; iii. For a court NA
a. Identity of the donor(s)
i. For the child him or herself; ii. For the parents; iii. For a court NA
b. Certain health information concerning the donor(s)
i. For the child him or herself; ii. For the parents; iii. For a court NA
c. Other information
i. For the child him or herself; ii. For the parents; iii. For a court NA
18. Is it possible to contest maternity and paternity of children born utilising MAP and under which conditions? NA
16. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos anonymous? Yes.
Lack of specific legal provisions on the subject.
Anonymity of donations is a matter of medical confidentiality. The Opinion of the Polish Association of Obstetricians recommends double anonymity (of both the donor and the receiver). Clinics’ internal regulations may provide otherwise.
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 No; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No.
There are no specific legal provisions on the subject.
Doctors are therefore bound by medical confidentiality in respect of both the donor and the receiver of the gametes. Information concerning the donor may be revealed only on medical grounds, when the life or health of the child is threatened.
a. Identity of the donor(s)
i. For the child him or herself No; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No. See above comment
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. See above comment
c. Other information
i. For the child him or herself No; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No. See above comment
18. Is it possible to contest maternity and paternity of children born utilising MAP and under which conditions? NA
There is no specific legal provisions on the subject.
Under the general laws governing descent, it is not possible to contest paternity in the event of homologous insemination within a married couple.
In cases of heterologous insemination, however, paternity may be contested, but only if the spouse of the inseminated woman did not consent to insemination with another man’s sperm.
Relevant provisions:
Presumption of paternity:
Art. 62 of the Code of the Family and Guardianship:
“1. A child born in wedlock or within three-hundred days of the dissolution or annulment of the marriage shall be presumed to be the child of the mother’s husband.
2. A child born within three-hundred days of the dissolution or annulment of the marriage, but after the mother has remarried, shall be presumed to be the child of the second husband.
3. These presumptions may be rebutted only through action to disclaim paternity.”
Art. 63 of the Code of the Family and Guardianship:
“The husband of the mother may take action to disclaim paternity within six months of learning of the birth.”
Art. 85 of the Code of the Family and Guardianship:
“1. The man who had intercourse with the mother of the child between three-hundred days and one-hundred-and-eighty-one days before its birth shall be presumed to be its father.
2. The fact that, during that period, the mother also had intercourse with another man shall rebut this presumption only if, under the circumstances, the other man appears more likely to be the father."
Abuse of rights and public policy:
Art. 5 of the Civil Code:
“No person shall use their rights in a manner contrary to the social and economic purpose of those rights or the rules of life in society. Abuse or abusive non-use of a right shall not be considered as exercise of that right, or enjoy the protection of the law.”
Art. 58 para. 2 of the Civil Code:
“Any legal act contrary to the rules of life in society shall be null and void.”
3. Are MAP procedures covered by the social security system? Yes. Previously, infertility was considered as a disease, now, since July 2016, according to what the law calls principle of equality, every women, single or married, with or without infertility can ask to be inseminated
4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage? Yes.
There is only a lower age limit 18 years (no2, art 6, law 32/2006 in all the country
40 years in the NHS.
5. Is the financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? Yes.
3 cycles for IVF at the National Health Service
At the moment it is not clear how many artificial inseminations can be done in single or homosexual women in NHS.
6. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos permitted in your country? Yes.
There are no legal provisions on the subject.
Clinics’ internal regulations define the specific medical criteria applicable to donors. Some questions are covered by the Opinion of the Polish Association of Obstetricians.
7. Are there specific compensation arrangements for donations of sperm/oocytes/embryos? No.
There are no legal provisions on the subject.
The Opinion of the Polish Association of Obstetricians provides for the lump-sum compensation of donors of genetic material for the expenses incurred.
8. Are there specific criteria for donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos? Yes.
Criteria for donation of sperm:
There are no legal provisions on the subject.
Some questions are covered by the Opinion of the Polish Association of Obstetricians. Clinics’ internal regulations define the medical criteria applicable to donors. These include: age: 30 - 45 years (correlation between the risk of a genetic disorder, such as Down’s syndrome, and age), state of health (absence of mental, systemic, tumour or infectious disease), and testing for viruses and sexually transmitted diseases. Where there is a high risk of the mother transmitting a genetic disorder to her offspring, the sperm donor must undergo exclusion tests for the same autosomal recessive gene. The donor’s blood group must also be known, to make sure it is compatible with the parents’ blood groups.
Sperm tests are carried out in conformity with WHO standards. Sperm is only preserved if bacteriological tests yield negative results. Donated sperm must be frozen for 6 months prior to the first insemination.
9. Are there specific non-medical criteria for selection of gametes/embryos to be used for MAP? No.
There are no legal provisions on the subject.
In practice basic physical and ethnic resemblance (skin colour) is taken into account.
10. Are there special measures for the prevention of consanguinity? No.
There is no legal provisions on the subject.
Clinics’ internal regulations may settle this question. According to the Opinion of the Polish Association of Obstetricians, the number of pregnancies obtained using sperm from the same donor may not exceed five.
11. In a homosexual couple, is a legal relationship possible between a child and the partner of the legal parent? No.
There are no legal provisions on the subject.
A legal relationship between a child and the homosexual partner of his or her legal parent would be considered contrary to the spirit of Polish law on families and descent, which defines the family as the union of two individuals of the opposite sex.
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? Yes
b. Risk of transmission of a disease
For a heterosexual couple Yes?; For women not living in a heterosexual couple? NA
c. Other N/A
19. Is there an important current debate in your country on these or related issues? Yes. There is a waiting list (both in public and private centers) for MPA procedures, that was aggravated during 2020-21 due to the pandemic situation.
20. Delegations are invited to provide information, in this section, on particular cases encountered in their country, and especially their case-law. NA
2. Are there specific criteria for access to MAP? See general comment on relevant legal instrument.
Medical reasons:
a. Infertility:
For a heterosexual couple?; For women not living in a heterosexual couple?
b. Risk of transmission of a disease
For a heterosexual couple?; For women not living in a heterosexual couple?
c. Other
16. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos anonymous?
sperm Yes / oocytes Yes / embryos -
Art. 18 specifies the rules of confidentiality regarding both the couples receiving MAP and the gamete donors.
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 No; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court Yes
Art. 18: The child may request medically important information about the donor after reaching 15 years of age, provided that he/she is mentally competent. The child’s legal representative may be given such information only with a permission issued by court, in cases of exceptionally important medical reasons.
The child’s physician has the right to access information in the donors’ registry for health reasons.
The court and administrative body have a right to access information in the registry if that is absolutely necessary for carrying out their official duties under this law.
a. Identity of the donor(s)
i. For the child him or herself No; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court Yes. See comment to first table answer 17.
b. Certain health information concerning the donor(s)
i. For the child him or herself Yes; ii. For the parents Yes; iii. For a court Yes. See comment to first table answer 17.
c. Other information
i. For the child him or herself No; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court Yes. See comment to first table answer 17.
18. Is it possible to contest maternity and paternity of children born utilising MAP and under which conditions?
In principle, no.
When donated sperm is used, the donor cannot claim paternity for the child, nor can biological paternity be determined in the interest of other parties.
3. Are MAP procedures covered by the social security system? Yes.
This may differ between counties but normally MAP is covered up to a limited number of attempts, presently most state owned/contracted clinics offer three attempts by national recommendation (by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, SKL).
MAP is considered part of health care.
4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage? By national recommendations: If the couple/female is approved by above mentioned criteria she will receive up to three attempts. Females above 40 will however normally not be approved for treatment, unless embryos were frozen before she turned 40, in which case the embryos may be used before she turns 45. This applies regardless of financial coverage. The other parent must not be above 56 years old.
5. Is the financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? Yes. Up to three attempts are normally covered.
16. Is donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos anonymous?
sperm No / oocytes No / embryos N/A
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. Yes, by request to the clinic which has a special registry about the donors (to be saved for 70 years). For embryo donor children it will be possible to find genetic siblings who have requested to be entered into the register.;
ii. For the parents No;
iii. For a court No. Unlikely, but potentially if court rules it necessary.
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 Yes, if relevant and noted in the donor registry; ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No
c. Other information
i. For the child him or herself Yes,
Contact info and any other info provided in the medical file
A donor child has the right to, at a “mature age” (interpreted as appx 18) and upon request, find out the identity and contact information of their donor. This information is to be kept for 70 years in a special donor registry. The parents are encouraged to inform their child about the donation;
ii. For the parents No; iii. For a court No
18. Is it possible to contest maternity and paternity of children born utilising MAP and under which conditions? No.
Paternity is regulated in the Parental Code.
Paternity can be contested if, having regard to all the circumstances, it is not probable that the child was conceived by insemination or IVF.
Amendments in the law will enter into force on April 1st 2016, allowing single females to be fertilized by assisted reproduction. The egg cell must be the single female’s own gametes.
The questions about the requirement of a) a genetic link between one of the parents and the child, and b) whether altruistic surrogacy, if any, should be allowed, were recently assessed. The government inquiry “Olika vägar till föräldraskap (SOU 2016:11)” has in a publication on the 24th February 2016 proposed to remove the requirement of a genetic link between the child and one of the parents but to not allow surrogacy.
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? Yes
Female married couples have access to sperm donation even if there is no infertility in the medical sense.
b. Risk of transmission of a disease
For a heterosexual couple Yes?; For women not living in a heterosexual couple? Yes
Female married couples have access to sperm donation and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis if there is a risk of transmitting a predisposition to a serious disease.
c. Other N/A