Everything legal!

The Reproductive Medicine Act (FMedG) (Fortpflanzungsmedizingesetz) was passed in 1992 and amended for the last time at the beginning of 2015 (Fortpflanzungsmedizinrechts-Änderungsgesetz 2015, FMedRÄG 2015). This covered forms of treatment for medically assisted reproduction and the handling of embryos. Egg donation, pre-implantation diagnostics and the treatment of same-sex female couples have been allowed in Austria since 2015.

Legal position regarding egg donation: The donor must not be older than 30 years, the recipient not older than 45 years. From the age of 14, the child born through the donation has the right to know who the donor is. Egg donors have no maintenance obligation towards the child.

Furthermore, donors are not allowed to receive any payment for the donation of egg cells; there is a ban on advertising. Couples in need of egg donation require advice from a notary about the legal consequences of consent. The consent is given in writing in the form of a notarial act.

Legal position regarding the treatment of same-sex female couples: Since 2015, fertility treatments can be carried out on lesbian couples, but single people are excluded.

Legal position on sperm donation: The 2015 amendment to the law allows artificial insemination with donor sperm, previously only IUI with sperm donation was allowed. A prerequisite is the couple’s consent and advice from a notary in the form of a notarial act. Mixing donor sperm is prohibited. A donor’s semen can be used for a maximum of three families. The resulting child has the right to information and can find out from the age of 14 who the biological father is (open donation).

Legal situation regarding pre-implantation diagnostics: In Austria, the genetic examination of embryos before they are returned to the uterus has been permitted since 2015. One distinguishes between:

• PGT-A (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy) for the investigation of maldistributions of chromosomes in the embryo and
• PGT-M (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Monogenic Defects) to investigate the function of single-cell genes (hereditary diseases)

The following criteria must be met in order for PGT-A to be carried out in Austria:

• The couple who wish to have children have already carried out at least three unsuccessful IVF attempts and a chromosomal cause has been assumed.
• Or if a woman has had at least three miscarriages or stillbirths, the cause of which was most likely in the child’s chromosomal makeup.

PGT-M is permitted if, due to a genetic modification in at least one parent, there is a serious risk of miscarriage, stillbirth or a hereditary disease of the child.

A hereditary disease is present if the child becomes so ill during pregnancy or after birth that it can only be kept alive through the constant use of modern medical technology or the constant use of other medical or nursing aids that severely impair the quality of life, severe brain damage or will suffer from severe pain that cannot be effectively treated.

PGT-M is only approved for certain hereditary diseases in Austria. The list of diseases is growing every year, but it is far from complete.

In order to obtain permission to examine a ‘new’ hereditary disease using PGT-M, an application for approval must be submitted to the Wissenschaftlichen Ausschuss für Genanalyse und Gentherapie (Scientific Committee for Gene Analysis and Gene Therapy) (WAGG). After the WAGG has assessed the application, a disease is ‘released’ and from then on embryos can be examined for precisely this disease using PGT-M.

Embryos may not be used for research purposes. Semen and egg cells used for IVF, as well as embryos, may be kept for a maximum of ten years. Human cloning is prohibited. Embryo donation and surrogacy are prohibited in Austria.

The IVF fund for financial support: The Austrian IVF Fund was set up in 2000 in order to provide financial assistance for couples with the unfulfilled desire to have children. If certain requirements are met, 70 per cent of the cost of four IVF attempts will be covered. In this case, the couple who wish to have children only have to pay 30 per cent.

Intrauterine insemination, i.e., the introduction of semen into the woman’s uterus does not fall under the scope of the IVF Fund Act and is therefore not supported financially. Additional costs such as anaesthesia during egg retrieval or storage fees for frozen tissue or cells are not supported by the IVF fund. The couples who wish to have children must bear the cost for the provision of donor sperm or donor egg cells as well as the costs incurred for PGT-A or PGT-M.