Assisted reproduction
Section 2 of Chapter II of Law n° 026/2025 of 17/09/2025 regulating healthcare services (arts 21 to 31) treats the prevention and treatment of infertility as a reproductive healthcare service and sets the rules for assisted reproductive technology; offences and penalties are in arts 96 to 105. The law repealed Law N° 21/05/2016 on human reproductive health, which listed infertility among its components but had no assisted-reproduction rules (art 110(c)). Parentage is dealt with in Law nº 71/2024: reproduction of spouses occurs naturally or by assisted technology between a man and a woman, and between a married couple and a third party through a written contract (art 279), and the mother of a child born this way is the woman named in the contract (art 282).
Assisted reproduction is lawful only in a healthcare facility licensed for it and only for the people named in art 23(1): spouses, or any other individual whom a healthcare professional has diagnosed as unable to reproduce naturally. A competent professional, including a reproductive endocrinology specialist or an obstetrician-gynaecologist with accredited training in reproductive techniques, provides the service (art 24), and a committee set up by ministerial order supervises these services (art 23(2)). Anyone wishing to have a gamete or embryo stored for later use makes a written request to the facility; storage lasts ten years, the requester may stop it at any time, and the facility stops if the fee fixed by ministerial order is unpaid (art 22). The recipient bears the cost of the service, which the recipient's insurance scheme covers if it covers such services (art 41).
A donor of a gamete or embryo signs or fingerprints a consent form, gives his or her full identity, is at least 21 and has undergone a full medical and genetic examination; a person of 18 to 20 may be allowed to donate for legitimate reasons by written request to the Minister, and a ministerial order sets a maximum age (art 25). A recipient must also consent in writing or by fingerprint, be at least 21 and have had a medical and genetic examination confirming the inability to reproduce naturally (art 26). Art 31 prohibits, among other acts, modifying human genes, selecting the sex of the unborn child, using a gamete or embryo without full donor identification, supplying one donor's gamete or embryo to more than one eligible person, buying or selling a gamete or embryo, buying or selling a surrogacy service, donating a spouse's gamete or seeking surrogacy without the other spouse's consent, using a gamete or embryo after the donors' death unless they consented in writing or a spouse wishes to use it, combining gametes of persons related in direct line or in collateral line up to the seventh degree, using non-human material, and importing or exporting gametes or embryos without the Ministry's specific written authorisation.
Surrogacy is regulated by arts 27 to 30. A surrogate mother is at least 21 and not older than 40, has previously carried a pregnancy to term without complications and has been examined by a healthcare professional; a ministerial order caps the number of pregnancies. The commissioning parent finds a surrogate on his or her own, pays the surrogacy-related healthcare costs up to six weeks after the birth, pays for any effects on the surrogate that a healthcare professional identifies and accepts the outcome of the pregnancy. The surrogate follows medical advice, avoids behaviour that endangers her or the foetus, keeps the commissioning parent informed and hands the child over immediately after birth. The two sign a contract before a notary before any surrogacy service is given, with essential terms to be set by ministerial order.
The offences carry heavy penalties. A healthcare professional who provides assisted reproduction to modify human genes faces 20 to 25 years and a fine of FRW 40 million to 50 million (art 98); one who implants non-human embryos or gametes faces 10 to 15 years and FRW 20 million to 25 million (art 96); importing or exporting gametes or an embryo carries 7 to 10 years and FRW 10 million to 15 million (art 97); sex selection carries 6 months to a year and FRW 5 million to 7 million (art 99); and implanting without full donor identification carries 6 months to a year and FRW 2 million to 5 million, or one of the two (art 100). A facility that commits any of the acts in arts 96 to 99 risks a fine of FRW 80 million to 100 million and suspension of its assisted-reproduction services for one to three years (art 105), and a facility that supplies one donor's gametes to more than one eligible person risks a fine of FRW 5 million to 10 million and a suspension of three to six months, or one of these penalties (art 104).
Key points
| Statute | Law n° 026/2025 of 17/09/2025, arts 21 to 31 and 96 to 105; in force on gazette publication, 18 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Who may use it | Spouses, or any individual diagnosed by a health professional as unable to reproduce naturally (art 23(1)) |
| Where and by whom | Licensed healthcare facility; reproductive endocrinology specialist or obstetrician-gynaecologist with accredited training (arts 22 and 24) |
| Storage of gametes or embryos | Written request; 10 years; the requester may stop it at any time (art 22) |
| Donor | At least 21 (18 to 20 with the Minister's permission), full identity, medical and genetic examination (art 25) |
| Recipient | At least 21, consent form, examination confirming inability to reproduce naturally (art 26) |
| Surrogate | 21 to 40, earlier uncomplicated full-term pregnancy; contract before a notary (arts 27 and 30) |
| Sale | Buying or selling gametes, embryos or surrogacy services is prohibited (art 31(e) and (f)) |
| Cost | Borne by the person eligible for the service, or by the insurance scheme if it covers it (art 41) |
In practice
- Obtain a diagnosis first: art 23(1) admits spouses, or an individual whom a healthcare professional has diagnosed as unable to reproduce naturally.
- Check that the facility is licensed for assisted reproduction and that the practitioner is a reproductive endocrinology specialist or an obstetrician-gynaecologist with accredited training (arts 22(1) and 24).
- If a donor is involved, make sure his or her full identity is on file: using a gamete or embryo without it is prohibited, and so is supplying one donor's material to more than one eligible person (art 31(c) and (d)).
- For surrogacy, secure your spouse's consent (art 31(j)), find the surrogate yourself (art 28(a)) and sign the contract before a notary before any treatment starts (art 30(1)).
- Keep the contract: under art 282 of Law nº 71/2024 the mother of a child born by assisted reproduction is the woman it names.
Cost and coverage
The Minister fixes the storage fee by order (art 22(5)) and the price of healthcare services by order (art 40); neither order was found in the sources opened, so no amount can be given. The cost of the service falls on the person eligible for it, and the person's insurance scheme pays if it covers such services (art 41).
Recent changes
Parliament passed the Law Regulating Healthcare Services on 4 August 2025; Law n° 026/2025 is dated 17 September 2025 and was published in the Official Gazette Special of 18 September 2025, the date it took effect.
Where to go
- A healthcare facility licensed to provide assisted-reproduction services (art 22(1)); the licence for services delivered through digital health and medical technology, which is how the Law defines assisted reproduction (art 2(f)), is applied for in writing to the Minister (art 38).
- The committee created by ministerial order to supervise assisted-reproduction services (art 23(2)).
- A notary, before whom the commissioning parent and the surrogate sign their contract (art 30(1)).
Worth knowing
Law nº 71/2024 speaks of assisted reproduction 'between a man and woman' (art 279), whereas Law n° 026/2025 also admits 'any other individual' diagnosed as unable to reproduce naturally (art 23(1)); the sources opened do not reconcile the two wordings, and the ministerial orders the 2025 law calls for (committee, storage fee, surrogate's maximum pregnancies, contract terms, donor's maximum age) were not found.
Frequently asked questions
Is surrogacy legal in Rwanda?
Yes since Law n° 026/2025: a surrogate aged 21 to 40 with an earlier uncomplicated pregnancy and a commissioning parent sign a contract before a notary before treatment (arts 27 to 30), but buying or selling a surrogacy service is prohibited (art 31(f)) and a spouse's consent is required (art 31(j)).
Can a single person use assisted reproduction?
Art 23(1) of Law n° 026/2025 admits 'spouses or any other individual' diagnosed as unable to reproduce naturally, whereas art 279 of Law nº 71/2024 describes reproduction between a man and a woman; the sources opened give no ruling or guideline that settles the difference.
Who is the legal mother of a child born through a surrogate?
Under art 282 of Law nº 71/2024, for a child born through assisted reproductive technology the mother is the woman mentioned in the contract on that reproduction, not the woman who gave birth; the surrogate must hand the child over immediately after birth (art 29(d) of Law n° 026/2025).
Sources
- Law n° 026/2025 of 17/09/2025 regulating healthcare services, Official Gazette Special of 18/09/2025 (trilingual gazette; Ministry of Justice copy) — arts 21 to 31, 38, 40, 41, 44 and 96 to 105, and the repeal in art 110 (English column of the gazette; French column cross-checked)
- Law nº 71/2024 of 26/06/2024 governing persons and family, Official Gazette Special of 30/07/2024 (trilingual gazette, English column; Ministry of Justice copy) — arts 279 and 282 on reproduction by assisted technology and the mother of a child born through it
- Law N° 21/05/2016 of 20/05/2016 relating to human reproductive health, Official Gazette no. 23 of 06/06/2016 (now repealed; archive.gazettes.africa copy) — arts 3 and 21 of the repealed 2016 law: infertility among the components of reproductive health
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