IVF laws in Europe: egg donation, donor anonymity and age limits by country
The rules on donation, access, surrogacy and age in 34 European countries, checked against each country's law in October 2026.
How was this checked?
We started from ESHRE's survey of 43 countries (ESHRE, Human Reproduction, 2024) and checked each cell against the country's current law.
Rules change, so check the source before you act on a cell.
| Country | Egg donation | Sperm donation | Donors | Single women | Female couples | Surrogacy | Max age, women | Changed since 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | No | Yes | No | 45 (donor eggs only) | None found |
| Belgium | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | Yes | No law | 45 egg retrieval, 47 transfer | Donor anonymity ruled unconstitutional, new law due by June 2027 |
| Bulgaria | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | No law | No | 51 (donor eggs, recommended) | New ordinance on assisted reproduction (2023) |
| Croatia | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | No | No | None in law | None found |
| Cyprus | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | No | Yes | 53 | Age limit raised to 53, donor identity at 18 with consent (2023) |
| Czech Republic | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | No | No | No law | 49 | None found |
| Denmark | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | Yes | No | 45 | Egg donation between female partners, altruistic surrogacy agreements (2025) |
| Estonia | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | Yes | No | 50 | Known donors allowed, female spouse becomes a legal parent (2024) |
| Finland | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | Yes | No | None in law | None found |
| France | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | Yes | No | 45 | Only identity-release donors since 31 March 2025 |
| Germany | No | Yes | Identifiable | No law | No law | No | None in law* | None found |
| Greece | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | No law | Yes | 54 | Surrogacy closed to male couples and single men (2025) |
| Hungary | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | No | No | None in law* | Amended in 2025, no change to these rules |
| Iceland | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | Yes | No | None in law | None found |
| Ireland | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | Yes | No law | None in law | Parentage covers treatment abroad and known donors (2026) |
| Italy | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | No | No | No | None in law | Surrogacy abroad by Italian citizens made a crime (2024) |
| Latvia | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | Yes | No | No law | None in law* | None found |
| Lithuania | Yes | Yes | Both | No law | No law | No | None in law | Unmarried patients no longer excluded (April 2026) |
| Malta | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | Yes | No | 48 | None found |
| Netherlands | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes* | Yes | No law | 49* | Donor register and a cap per donor (2025) |
| North Macedonia | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | Yes | No law | Yes | None in law | None found |
| Norway | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | Yes | No | 46 | None found |
| Poland | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | No | No | No law | None in law* | None found |
| Portugal | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | Yes | Yes | None in law | Transition for older anonymous donations extended (2025) |
| Romania | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | Yes | No | No law | None in law | None found |
| Serbia | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | Yes | No | No | None in law | None found |
| Slovakia | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | No* | No* | No | None in law* | Surrogacy ban written into the Constitution (2025) |
| Slovenia | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | Yes | Yes | No | None in law | Opened to single women and female couples (December 2025) |
| Spain | Yes | Yes | Anonymous | Yes | Yes | No | None in law | Surrogacy advertising banned (2023) |
| Sweden | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | Yes | No | None in law | None found |
| Switzerland | No | Yes | Identifiable | No | Yes | No | None in law | None found |
| Turkey | No | No | n/a | No | No | No | None in law | None found |
| Ukraine | Yes | Yes | Both | Yes | No law | Yes | None in law | Ministry orders in 2024, no change to these rules |
| United Kingdom | Yes | Yes | Identifiable | Yes | Yes | Yes | None in law | Eggs between female partners count as partner donation (2024) |
Notes
- No law: the law neither allows nor bans it.
- Netherlands surrogacy: no law on surrogacy itself, commercial brokering is a crime.
- Denmark surrogacy: clinics may not treat for it, altruistic agreements can be approved since 2025.
- Portugal surrogacy: allowed by law, but the regulation it needs has never been issued.
- Max age: "None in law" means the law sets no number, clinics and funding rules often do.
- Malta: the limit of 48 is in regulations that are not yet in force.
- * rests on ESHRE's survey of the situation at 31 December 2022, because the law itself says nothing on the point.
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- ESHRE EIM Consortium. Survey on ART and IUI: legislation, regulation, funding and registries in European countries, an update. Human Reproduction, 2024. doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deae163
- Austria: ris.bka.gv.at, ris.bka.gv.at
- Belgium: ejustice.just.fgov.be, dekamer.be, const-court.be
- Bulgaria: mh.government.bg, dv.parliament.bg
- Croatia: narodne-novine.nn.hr, vlada.gov.hr, zakon.hr
- Cyprus: cylaw.org, cylaw.org
- Czech Republic: e-sbirka.gov.cz, e-sbirka.gov.cz
- Denmark: retsinformation.dk, retsinformation.dk, retsinformation.dk, retsinformation.dk, retsinformation.dk
- Estonia: riigiteataja.ee, riigiteataja.ee, riigiteataja.ee, riigiteataja.ee
- Finland: finlex.fi
- France: service-public.gouv.fr, assemblee-nationale.fr, assemblee-nationale.fr, conseil-etat.fr
- Germany: gesetze-im-internet.de, gesetze-im-internet.de, gesetze-im-internet.de, gesetze-im-internet.de
- Greece: et.gr, et.gr, et.gr, eaiya.gov.gr, et.gr
- Hungary: njt.jog.gov.hu
- Iceland: althingi.is, island.is
- Ireland: revisedacts.lawreform.ie, irishstatutebook.ie, irishstatutebook.ie, irishstatutebook.ie
- Italy: gazzettaufficiale.it, normattiva.it, normattiva.it, normattiva.it
- Latvia: likumi.lv, likumi.lv, likumi.lv
- Lithuania: e-seimas.lrs.lt
- Malta: legislation.mt, legislation.mt
- Netherlands: wetten.overheid.nl, wetten.overheid.nl, zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl
- North Macedonia: portal.mdt.gov.mk, portal.mdt.gov.mk, zdravstvo.gov.mk
- Norway: lovdata.no, lovdata.no
- Poland: api.sejm.gov.pl, api.sejm.gov.pl
- Portugal: pgdlisboa.pt, cnpma.org.pt, cnpma.org.pt
- Romania: legislatie.just.ro, legislatie.just.ro
- Serbia: zdravlje.gov.rs
- Slovakia: static.slov-lex.sk, static.slov-lex.sk, static.slov-lex.sk
- Slovenia: uradni-list.si, uradni-list.si, uradni-list.si
- Spain: boe.es, boe.es, boe.es
- Sweden: riksdagen.se, riksdagen.se, data.riksdagen.se
- Switzerland: fedlex.admin.ch, fedlex.admin.ch
- Turkey: mevzuat.gov.tr, resmigazete.gov.tr, mevzuat.gov.tr, mevzuat.gov.tr
- Ukraine: zakon.rada.gov.ua, zakon.rada.gov.ua, zakon.rada.gov.ua, zakon.rada.gov.ua, zakon.rada.gov.ua
- United Kingdom: hfea.gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk, hfea.gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk