Legal framework

The Federal Act on Medically Assisted Reproduction (Reproductive Medicine Act – RMA) came into force on 1 January 2001. It allows us to offer care using the most modern MAR techniques.

Female married couples can have access to sperm donation in Switzerland from 1 July 2022, following the acceptance by the Swiss population of the same-sex marriage law on 26 September 2021. 

Our unit has an ISO 9001:2015 certificate and our laboratory is accredited to ISO 15189:2013. This provides a guarantee of excellence of the treatments we offer you.

The major provisions of the RMA:

• The couple must be able to raise the child until his/her majority.
• Any treatment requires consent by both partners.
• Psychological support must be offered before, during and after the treatment.
• The culture of embryos is authorised during a treatment cycle up to the 5th or 6th day of development.
• The cryopreservation of embryos is authorised for a maximum period of 10 years.
• Only a married couple can benefit from sperm donation.
• Sperm donation is not anonymous: at 18 years of age the child can obtain information about the donor's identity from the Office de l’état civil (Civil Services Centre).

In particular, the RMA forbids:

• determination of sex (except to exclude a serious disease)
• egg cell donation
• surrogate motherhood

From 1 September 2017, important changes have allowed couples to maximise their chances of becoming a parent

These changes include:

• The number of embryos that can be developed during a treatment cycle increases from three to 12.
• Unused embryos can be frozen with a view to later treatment for a duration of five years, renewable on request (maximum duration of 10 years).
• Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is authorised*.

*PGD is a procedure that is authorised in two cases: only couples carrying a severe hereditary disease (preimplantation diagnosis) and couples who cannot reproduce naturally can decide to have this examination (preimplantation genetic screening).