Title of the law: There are no general laws or regulations on medically assisted procreation in Poland

If no legal instrument please describe the practice: In view of the lack of specific legal provisions, MAP may be practised under the general rules of medical law and in particular those governing the practice of medicine (duty to inform patients of the medical and legal consequences, confidentiality with regard to the MAP itself and the identity of the donor of the gametes, due care in the choice of the donor and examination of the genetic material to be used, the duty to obtain free and informed consent, etc), the corresponding rights of patients, the general laws on families, descent and registration, and the Medical Code of Ethics (which does not address this issue specifically). Some questions are addressed in the Opinion of the Polish Association of Obstetricians concerning the MAP techniques used in the treatment of infertility, and others by the internal regulations of the clinics practising MAP (practice may therefore vary from one place or establishment to another).

3. Are MAP procedures covered by the social security system? Yes. In Lithuania infertility considered as a disease therefore MAP services are paid for in accordance with the Law on Health Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania. The compensation is available to people who have entered into a marriage or registered partnership agreement in accordance with the law and have been diagnosed with infertility (female, male or both). Age limit of woman for compensation - 42 years old.

4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage? Yes. Infertility is the condition for the coverage of MAP. Woman age limit for treatment of infertility with MAP is 42 years.

5. Is the financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? Yes. A maximum of 2 treatment cecles per couple is reimbursed. 

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

Title of the legislation: Law 12/2019, of the 15^th February, described as techniques of assisted reproduction

Date of adoption and of entry into force: adopted on 15.02.2019 and came into force on 21.03.2019

Published in the Official Bulletin of the Principality of Andorra (B.O.P.A)

2. Are there specific criteria for access to MAP? 

Adults between 18 years and – 50 years subject to exceptions. For example, if necessary, minors could cryopreserve gametes for their own use at a later stage, in order to preserve fertility in situations of pathological procedures. Always under medical guidance.

Title of the law: No specific law, but different articles in the Code make a reference to it:

Law of population health protection

Date of adoption: 26 June 1997; entry into force: 24 September 1997.

Chapter 5.

Article 29 Artificial insemination and embryo implantation.

Article 40. The usage of semen and human organs for transplantation.

The Criminal Code of Azerbaijan Republic

Date of adoption: 30 December 1999; entry into force: 01 September 2000

Chapter 8.

Article 136. Illegal Artificial insemination.

 Title of the law: Law on Medical Assisted Reproduction “Fortpflanzungsmedizingesetz”

 Date of adoption: 14 May 1992 entry into force 1 July 1992

 Published: in Federal Gazette “Bundesgesetzblatt” BGBl. Nr. 275/1992

 Amendment: Fortpflanzungsmedizinrechts-Änderungsgesetz 2015

 Date of Adoption: 23 February 2015, entry into force: 24 February 2015

 Published in: Federal Gazette “Bundesgesetzblatt” BGBl. I Nr. 35/2015

Revision concerning egg donation, sperm donation and PGD

1. Is access to MAP 

• restricted to heterosexual couples? No
• possible for women not living in a heterosexual couple? Yes

Access for homosexual and heterosexual couples, no access for single women.

Des critères spécifiques sont-ils retenus pour l’accès à la PMA ? 

L'accès à la PMA est ouvert aux couples hétérosexuels et homosexuels, mais pas aux femmes célibataires. Accès en cas de risque élevé de transmission d’une maladie grave, par ex. VIH.

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

Unfulfilled desire to have children is not considered as a disease. A fund is established to cover 70% of costs of IVF – treatments under specific conditions.

4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage? 

Yes:

• male sterility and/or female sterility (occluded fallopian tubes, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO);
• age of intended mother up to 40 years, age of the partner up to 50 years.

5. Is financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? 

Yes, limitation to four IVF procedures; if a pregnancy is achieved further four IVF procedures are possible.

Are there specific criteria for access to MAP?

Yes, Access permitted for heterosexual and homosexual couples, no access for single women. Access in case of high risk of transmission of a serious disease, e.g. HIV.

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

No

4. Are there specific criteria for such coverage?

No

5. Is the financial coverage limited to a number of MAP procedures? 

Yes

2. Are there specific criteria for access to MAP? 

Medical reasons:

a. Infertility:

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

b. Risk of transmission of a disease

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

There are no legal restrictions for access to medically assisted procreation. However, the law of 2007 specifies that the fertilization centers may refuse to comply with a request for MAP, either by specifying the medical reasons for the refusal or by invoking objection of conscience.

c. Other NA

Is donationn of the sperm, oocytes and embryos permitted? Yes

Are there specific compensation arrangements for such donations? 

No. The 2007 Act states that only donations of supernumerary embryos and gametes which are made free of charge are lawful.

The Act does allow the King, however, to specify an allowance to cover the travel expenses or loss of earnings of the person from whom the gametes are being obtained.  This allowance can also cover the hospital fees arising from the retrieval of oocytes from the donor.  So far, however, no decrees have been issued to this effect.

In practice, all costs arising from medical examinations and procedures during treatment are borne by the recipient.  Sometimes, too, the fertility centre requires the woman receiving the oocytes to pay the donor an “allowance” while sperm donors receive a small amount of compensation for each usable sample.

Are there specific criteria for donation of the sperm, oocytes and embryos? 

The 2007 Act states that gamete retrieval is available to adult women up to the age of 45 years.  Retrieval of gametes, supernumerary embryos, gonads or gonad fragments for cryogenic storage may be carried out, on medical advice, on a minor, however.

Donations of supernumerary embryos or gametes for eugenic purposes or for the purposes of sex selection are prohibited.

There must be a written agreement between the donor and the accredited fertility centre.  The law does not specify any medical criteria for harvesting.

Are there specific non-medical criteria for selection of gametes/embryos to be used for MAP?

In practice, the centres try to avoid too great a dissimilarity between donors and recipients.

The law of 2007 specifies that pairing between donor and recipient may not be considered as a practice with eugenic character.

Are there special measures for the prevention of consanguinity? 

The 2007 Act states that supernumerary embryos from the same donor or couple of donors or gametes from the same donor, must not result in births in more than 6 different women.

In a homosexual couple, is a legal relationship possible between a child and the partner of his or her legal parent? 

The Act of 18 May 2006 amended certain provisions of the Civil Code to allow same-sex adoption.

Is donation of the sperm, oocytes or embryos anonymous? 

Yes. In the case of gametes, anonymity is the rule.  The law does, however, allow non-anonymous donations if they are based on an agreement between the donor and the recipient or recipients.

Is it possible to obtain information about the biological origin of a child born after gametes or embryo donnation? 

The law provides that once supernumerary embryos or gametes have been implanted, the parentage rules set out in the Civil Code operate in favour of the author or authors of the parental project.  No parentage suit may be filed against the donor by the recipient or by the child born through the use of supernumerary embryos or gametes.

There are no specific legal provisions that would apply to the courts in this area.  It cannot be ruled out that a court might obtain information about the biological origin of a child born through gamete or embryo donation if it deemed this necessary.

Is it possible to obtain information about the identity of the donors ?

No for the child and the parents, yes for the court 

The fertility centre is legally bound to render inaccessible any data that could be used to identify the embryo or gamete donor.  Anyone working for or in a fertility centre who becomes aware of information that could be used to identify the donor is subject to the professional secrecy requirement (Art. 458 of the Criminal Code).  Non-anonymous gamete donations are permitted, however, if they are based on an agreement between the donor and the recipient or recipients.

Is it possible to obtain certain health information concerning the donors?

For the child, for the parents, for the court: yes

The Act specifies that the center registers specific data concerning the donor, such as the physical characteristics of the biological parents, in case of an embryo, or of the gamete’s donor but provides for the parents and the child to have access only to the necessary medical data that can be important for the child’s health.

Is it possible to obtain other information?

For the child, for the parents no, for the court yes

The law requires the centre to record certain data relating to the donor, including the physical characteristics of both embryo providers or of the gamete donor.  The law only allows the parents and child access to such medical data as are necessary for the child’s health, however.

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

No, the law states that once supernumerary embryos or gametes have been implanted, the parentage rules laid down in the Civil Code operate in favour of the authors of the parental project. 

No lawsuit relating to parentage or to its effects on property rights may be brought by donors of supernumerary embryos or gametes.

Bosnia and Herzegovina still have no specific legislation on MAP covering entire country. Currently, MAP is regulated by the Health Insurance legislation bylaws (in both B&H entities: Federation BiH and Respublika Srpska and Brcko District BiH), mainly regulating the rights of the couple to reimbursement of IVF costs for two procedures.

Date of adoption and entry into force:

Federation BIH:  Decision on Establishment of Basic Patients Rights http://mz.ks.gov.ba/sites/mz.ks.gov.ba/files/Odluka%20o%20utvrdjivanju%20Osnovnog%20paketa%20slnFBiH21-09.pdf  chapter X (11.,12.) 

Adopted on 19. March 2009, in force as of 01.04.2009

Published in: Službene novine Federacije BiH”, 21/09 of 01. 04.2009.

In the entity Republika Srpska  and Brcko district, Health Insurance Fund endorse the budget for MAP each year, depending on the funds availability

Indicate if process of revision is ongoing and, in your answers, provide information on provision in the draft law

MAP as a medical procedure is well established both in public and private sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A draft Law on Medically Assisted Reproduction in the entity Federation B&H, after two years of preparation by the Federal Ministry of Health, and  extensive public debate, has been rejected by the Parliament of Federation B&H in June 2014 https://www.google.ba/#q=+nacrt+zakon+o+biomedicinski+potpomognutoj+oplodnji

In 2016.  B&H state level Parliamentary Group on Gender Equality drafted the B&H Framework Law on MAP (Setting standards for the entire country); however, despite support  by the Council of Ministers of B&H, it has  been rejected by Constitution-legal Commission of the House of Representatives,  not for the content, due to  for political reasons . http://static.parlament.ba/doc/46496_ZAKON%20O%20LIJE%c4%8cENJU%20NEPLODNOSTI_BIH%20%20nacrt_%20pre%c4%8di%c5%a1%c4%87eni%20(1). (July 2016)

Currently  (January 2017) the  new   draft law  on MAP (proposed by the Socialist Democrat Party MS) is  in the Parliamentary procedure in B&H Entity Federation BIH,   while  the Draft of the MAP law prepared by the competent Ministry of Health will be on the Parliament agenda in 2017 as well.

2. Are these specific criteria for access to MAP?

Medical reasons:

 a. Infertility

i. for a heterosexual couple? Yes

ii. for women not living in a heterosexual couple? Currently no, but envisaged for single woman in the new draft legislation.

b. Risk of transmission of a disease (please specify the risk and/or disease)

i. for a heterosexual couple? No

ii. for women not living in a heterosexual couple? No

1. Is access to medically assisted procreation (MAP) 

a. restrictd to heterosexual couples? Yes

b. possible for women not living in a heterosexal coupe? Currently No, but envisaged in the new draft legislation.

6. Is donation of sperm/oocyte/embryos permitted in your country? 

No

7. Are there specific compensation arrangements for such donations? 

NA

8. Are there specific criteria for donation of sperm/oocytes/embryos? 

NA

9. Are there specific non-medical criteria for selection of gametes/embryos to be used for MAP? 

NA

10. Are there special measures for teh prevention of consanguinity? 

NA

11. In a homosexual couple, is a legal relationship possible between a child and the partner of the legal parent? MAP legal only for heterosexual couples

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

The Law on MAP of the Republic of Lithuania states that MAP can be applied to infertile couples when infertility cannot be treated by any other methods.

b. Risk of transmission of a disease

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

According to the above-mentioned Law, MAP can also be used if there is a high probability of transmitting a disease, which could cause severe disability to a future child.

c. Other No

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

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 No

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

11. In a homosexual couple, is a legal relationship possible between a child and the partner of the legal parent? No. The law limits access to MAP to heterosexual couples, married or living under the same roof (Art 5).