Legislation in Bulgaria
According to Bulgarian ART law:
- The maximum age for women for access to ART in Bulgaria is linked with the natural reproductive age of the woman.
- ART is allowed for married and unmaried couples, and single women.
- IUI, IVF, ICSI, IMSI is allowed.
- Oocyte (Egg) and sperm donation is allowed, however with the written consent of the wife/husband or partner. The law guarantees that both parties (donor and recipient) must remain anonymous.
- Cryopreservation of oocyte, sperm and embryo is allowed.
- Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is allowed upon consent of partners in order to diagnose whether embryos demonstrate genetic malformations.
- Choosing the sex of the embryo is prohibited, unless for medical reasons, such as in cases of genetic illnesses linked to sex chromosomes.
- Surrogacy is prohibited.
Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR) procedures in Bulgaria are covered by:
- The Bulgaria Health Act
- Law on the Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells
- Order No. 28 of 20 June 2007 on Assisted Reproduction Activities of Bulgarian Ministry of Health
- The EU Tissues and Cells Directive (Directive 2004/23/EC)
- European Medical Device Directive (Directive 93/42/EEC). Only CE medical devices are used. CE is the abbreviation of the "Conformité Européenne" which means that the product complies with the safety and quality demands and can be distributed freely within the European Union.
- National Registry of MAR. The registry is maintained by Bulgarian Executive Agency for Transplantation and reporting to the registry is under legal obligation.