Women who are not in a relationship will not be able to benefit from IVF. In light of the new Infertility Treatment Act, the provisions of which will take effect from November 2015, IVF will be exclusively for couples. This is therefore the last moment for single women who want to have a child with sperm from an anonymous donor.

The law on IVF treatment takes into account European Union directives to which all member states are subject. However, regulations in individual countries differ on certain issues, such as restrictions on those undergoing IVF treatment. In Poland, as in Austria, Italy or Sweden, infertile single women will not be able to benefit from IVF treatment. Until now, many single women who could not get pregnant for various medical reasons have applied to Polish clinics. For in vitro fertilisation, donor sperm from a sperm bank was used. Sometimes they did not have their own ova, so they opted for IVF with a cell adopted from an anonymous donor and sperm from an anonymous donor. Now this will not be possible.

Laws that work retroactively

Contrary to the common opinion that the law is not retroactive, single women who have previously frozen their ova or embryos because they have cancer, among other reasons, will also not be able to use IVF. According to the law, they will only be able to use the reproductive cells if they find a partner who will formally father the child. A couple undergoing IVF may be in an informal relationship, but the law states that the partner, by consenting to IVF, becomes the father of the child according to the law. Regardless of whether the sperm for IVF comes from the man the woman indicates as her partner or from a donor sperm bank, the partner is always recognised by law as the father.

To have a baby as a single woman, a woman will have to travel abroad. IVF for single women is possible in the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece, the UK and Spain, among others.

According to the law, infertility treatment by IVF will be possible for married couples and couples in informal relationships, after other treatment methods have been exhausted. It will be possible to undertake it no earlier than after one year of unsuccessful efforts to have a child. Exceptions will be situations where it is known that other methods than IVF have no chance of success.

The medical information presented should be considered as general guidelines and does not replace the individual judgement of the doctor regarding the medical management of each patient. The doctor, after a thorough examination of the patient's condition, determines the extent and frequency of diagnostic tests and/or therapeutic procedures, taking into account specific medical indications. All medical decisions are made in full consultation with the patient.

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Invimed editorial team - we serve patients by solving their fertility problems. We use world medical knowledge, state-of-the-art technology and treatment methods. We are here to make dreams of parenthood come true. The smiles on the faces of happy parents give meaning to our work.

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