Reproduction
Ten European countries pay egg donors anywhere from 250 to 2,000 euros
In addition to economic or altruistic motivation, anonymity plays a key role in egg or sperm donation, although an increasing number of countries require disclosure of donor identities.
Assisted reproduction in Hungary has a success rate of 2%
Erika and her husband have tried in-vitro fertilisation four times since 2017, but after two implantations without success they had enough of the overworked Hungarian healthcare system and decided to try their luck abroad. They have never regretted their decision.
The postcode lottery of publicly-funded assisted reproduction in Spain
Many autonomous communities are not providing the bare minimum of provision in Spain’s health service and are using stripped back services, age limits and imposing fees in order to avoid providing the service.
Spain, Czechia, Denmark and Belgium are the meccas of reproductive tourism
Barriers in many European countries push thousands of people abroad to access assisted reproductive technology techniques. In some cases, they take out huge loans to pay for the treatments.
More than half of European countries prohibit access to assisted reproduction for lesbians and almost a third do so for single women
The situation is much more difficult for trans and intersex people. In addition to the legal barriers, they face economic stumbling blocks: most public health systems cover only part of the costs or have very long wait lists or narrow access criteria.
How does assisted reproductive technology work in Europe?
Introduced in Spain over 40 years ago, ART has allowed hundreds of thousands of infertile couples to have children. The regulation varies significantly among EU countries.