News • May 07, 2020

Allows egg donation and assisted fertilization for singles

Magnus Finset Sørdal

Chief Executive Officer

The post has been updated since publication as the new bills have come into force.

Last updated: 31 May 2021

Today, the “Biotechnology Settlement 2020” between the Progress Party, the Labour Party and the Socialist Left Party was presented.

The settlement, which will be considered on May 26, will allow for both egg donation and assisted fertilization for singles. In addition, it will allow storage of unfertilized eggs on non-medical grounds and mitochondrial donation.

Medicus was approved to offer egg donation treatment at the end of May 2021, and is now working to prepare for the start of treatment after we reopen after the summer holidays. We collaborated with the Finnish egg bank and fertility clinic Ovumia Oy and they ensure that we have a fast and abundant supply of donor eggs. This means that we will soon have the opportunity to offer treatment with donor eggs for couples in Norway.

Partner donation was allowed in Norway from January 1, 2021. This means that if you are a woman and are in a relationship with another woman, you can receive donated eggs from your partner.

We are well underway with assisted fertilization for singles , and have already started the path to the desired child with many single women.

How assisted reproduction for singles should work in practice

We believe that the state should not place restrictions on the choices families and individuals can make. Society is moving forward and as of today, Norway is the only Nordic country that still has a ban on single people having children through assisted reproduction. We emphasize that the child's right to a safe and good upbringing should be emphasized and that the decision to provide single women with assisted reproduction should be made by the doctor and based on a medical and psychosocial assessment. Such a suitability assessment is also made by couples seeking assisted reproduction today. The single woman has a duty to provide information, and the child has the right to information about the donor's identity, when the child has reached the age of 15.

Source: “Biotechnology Settlement 2020”

How egg donation should work in practice

The proposal is framed in the following way:

Must be done under responsible and ethical circumstances. All donors must have psychological counseling and assessment in advance, and otherwise go through the same assessment process as sperm donors as set out in guidelines. The doctor determines whether the woman meets the criteria.
The donor woman must be between 25-35 years old, and must be unknown but not anonymous.
There is a limit of 3 collections per donor woman.
Import of eggs is only permitted from Nordic countries.
Donation of genetic material from family and friends is not permitted.
Partner donation is permitted. In same-sex couples, one woman can donate an egg, which is carried by the other woman.
Women or couples seeking assisted reproduction do not have the opportunity to choose the donor themselves. The arrangement whereby the fertility doctor himself chooses genetic material that is as similar as possible to the parents who will carry the child, should also be practiced for egg donation.
Altruistic donation is established, with a sober compensation. The compensation level is prepared in guidelines, and should reflect the burden and time spent on the donor. The compensation is set at a moderate level, which does not contribute to Norway driving up the general compensation level in Nordic countries.
Compensation for donations is determined by regulation. Private actors are not allowed to have their own compensation schemes.
A prioritization guide for assisted fertilization using egg donation will be established, which will be harmonized with the current prioritization guide for sperm.
Children born through egg donation will, in the same way as with sperm donation, have the right to know the donor's identity upon reaching the age of 15.

Source: “Biotechnology Settlement 2020”

We congratulate all couples and women who now have the opportunity to become parents, and we look forward to being one of your contributors.

We have previously written an article in Adresseavisen about egg donation here . If you would like to read more about the case, we can recommend NRK's case here and you can watch the video from the press conference on VGTV today by following this link.

We congratulate all couples and women who now have the opportunity to become parents, and we look forward to being one of your contributors.

If you would like to talk to us about these topics, you can send us a message via our secure web form here.

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Allows egg donation and assisted fertilization for singles

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