The legal framework
Law 14/2006 on assisted human reproduction allows access to any woman over 18 with full capacity, 'regardless of marital status and sexual orientation'; the husband or wife consents for parentage purposes (articles 6 to 8; article 7.3 lets the mother's wife consent to dual maternity before the Civil Registry). Donation of gametes and embryos is anonymous and free, with compensation for expenses (about 1,000 euros for egg donors), and a donor may not have more than six children born in Spain; the National Donor Register, operating since 2023, polices the limit. Surrogacy is banned: the contract is void (article 10) and Organic Law 1/2023 declares it a form of violence against women. The public health basket (Order SSI/2065/2014, extended in 2021 to single women, female couples and trans people) covers up to three IVF cycles for women under 40 and six inseminations under 38, without previous common children, with waiting lists of 6 to 18 months depending on the region. About 165,000 cycles a year; 30 % of IVF patients using donation are foreign.
Spain is the leading destination for British fertility patients: egg donation is anonymous, compensated and available within weeks rather than the years of waiting in the NHS, clinics on the coasts and in Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante and Valencia work in English, and the legal framework is stable. British patients pay privately; the NHS does not fund treatment abroad, and Spanish public funding is for residents registered with the Spanish health service.
Two legal points matter for British patients. First, Spanish donation is anonymous by law: unlike the UK, where donor-conceived people can obtain the donor's identity at 18, a child conceived in Spain will never be able to identify the donor — the child of a British couple treated in Alicante has fewer rights than one conceived in Manchester. Second, parentage: a child born in the UK after treatment in Spain follows UK rules (the mother's spouse or civil partner is the legal parent if she consented), and a child born in Spain to two mothers is registered with both if they are married or, since 2023, if the non-birth mother consents at the Civil Registry.
Key points
| Access | Any woman over 18: single, married, female couple, trans people with gestational capacity |
|---|---|
| Donation | Anonymous and free with compensation (about 1,000 euros for eggs, 30 to 50 euros for sperm); maximum six children per donor; National Donor Register since 2023 |
| Public funding | Up to 3 IVF cycles (under 40) and 6 inseminations (under 38), without previous common children; waits of 6 to 18 months; residents only |
| Surrogacy | Banned: contract void (article 10); registration of children born abroad only by foreign judgment or adoption (Supreme Court 2022) |
| Preimplantation diagnosis | Authorised for serious diseases, with a list and authorisation by the National Commission for other cases |
| Embryos | Freezing allowed; fate chosen by the couple (own use, donation, research, cessation) |
| Figures | About 165,000 cycles a year, 10 % of births by assisted reproduction; 30 % of donation patients are foreign, the British among the most numerous |
In practice
- In the public system, referral starts with the GP or gynaecologist to the reproduction unit of the reference hospital; ask early because of waiting lists and the age limit (40 at the start of treatment); only residents registered with the Spanish health service qualify.
- In the private sector, treatment starts within weeks; check the clinic's authorisation by the autonomous community and the success rates published in the Spanish Fertility Society register (SEF), which lists results per clinic — Spain has no official ranking either.
- Female couples may use the ROPA method (one partner's eggs, the other's pregnancy), authorised in private clinics; parentage is registered with both mothers by consent before the Civil Registry, married or not since 2023.
- Foreign patients come mainly for anonymous egg donation without waiting (weeks instead of years in the UK or France); the child will not be able to know the donor. Expect to be asked for a UK medical history and to sign Spanish consent forms in Spanish with a translation.
- Frozen embryos require the consent to be renewed every two years; without a reply, the clinic may dispose of them after two formal requests — keep your contact details up to date after returning to the UK.
Cost and coverage
Free in the public system within the limits for residents; privately, insemination 800 to 1,500 euros, IVF 4,000 to 6,000, egg donation 6,000 to 9,000, medication extra (1,000 to 1,500 per cycle); travel and accommodation on top for UK patients, who typically make two trips.
Recent changes
The 2021 extension of the public basket opened assisted reproduction to single women, female couples and trans people; the National Donor Register started operating in 2023; the Supreme Court tightened in 2022 and 2024 the conditions for registering children born by surrogacy abroad. The flow of British patients has kept growing since Brexit.
Where to go
- Assisted reproduction units of public hospitals (GP referral) for residents.
- Spanish Fertility Society (sefertilidad.net): register of clinics and results.
- National Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction (Ministry of Health).
- Patient associations: Red Nacional de Infértiles; in the UK, the HFEA publishes guidance on treatment abroad.
Worth knowing
The public system's age limit of 40 applies at the start of treatment, and waiting lists can bring you close to it: ask for referral as soon as a problem is suspected. And Spanish egg donation is anonymous by law: the child will never have access to the donor's identity, unlike in the UK, Portugal or France — a difference to weigh before choosing Spain over a UK clinic with identifiable donors.
Frequently asked questions
Why do so many British patients go to Spain for egg donation?
Because donors are compensated and anonymous, so there are enough of them: matching takes weeks, whereas UK clinics have waiting lists of a year or more for altruistic, identifiable donors. Prices (6,000 to 9,000 euros a cycle) are comparable to UK private prices. The trade-off is anonymity: the child will not be able to identify the donor, which UK law would allow.
Who is the legal parent of a child conceived in Spain and born in England?
UK law applies to the birth: the birth mother is the mother, and her husband, wife or civil partner is the other parent if he or she consented to the treatment; an unmarried partner is a parent only if the UK-style consent forms were signed, which Spanish clinics do not use — take advice, and consider a parental order or step-parent adoption if needed. Spanish rules apply only to births registered in Spain.
Is treatment in Spain covered by the NHS or by travel insurance?
No. The NHS does not fund treatment abroad, the S2 route applies only to EU/EEA countries for planned care and Spain is a member state but the UK is no longer in that scheme except for limited Withdrawal Agreement cases; travel insurance excludes elective treatment. Costs are private, with the clinic's package price plus medication and travel; UK GPs will often prescribe monitoring scans and blood tests locally on the clinic's protocol.
Official sources and links
- Law 14/2006 on assisted human reproduction techniques — BOE
- Spanish Fertility Society — national activity register — results by clinic
- HFEA — fertility treatment abroad — UK regulator's guidance
- Administración General del Estado — administracion.gob.es — official portal of Spanish public services, with pages in English
- Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) — Spanish legislation, official and consolidated texts
- British Consulates in Spain — gov.uk — living in Spain guide, consular help, lists of English-speaking lawyers