In 2025, the average waiting time for assisted reproduction using donated sperm in France was 17.7 months, ranging from 8 to 28 months depending on the clinic. For a woman approaching the age limit, it is this waiting time, rather than the cost, that is the deciding factor.
What is the waiting time for assisted reproduction for a single woman in France? According to the French Biomedicine Agency, the average waiting time for assisted reproductive technology (ART) involving sperm donation was 17.7 months in 2025, the same as in 2024. Behind this average, the range varies from 8 to 28 months depending on the clinic. This figure covers all applications for sperm donation, including those from single women and female couples.
These figures relate to applications made at French clinics. Here is what the official figures show, what changed in 2025, and what options Greece offers when the waiting time becomes the real problem.
In April 2026, the French Biomedicine Agency published its figures for the year 2025:
| Year | Average waiting time | People on the waiting list as at 31 December |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 15.5 months | nearly 7,600 |
| 2024 | 17.7 months | over 10,600 |
| 2025 | 17.7 months | 8,700 |
By the end of 2025, single women accounted for 47 per cent of the waiting list. The queue has started to shrink, but the average waiting time has not yet fallen.
Since September 2022, a new right has been in force: a person born through donation may, upon reaching the age of majority, request the donor’s identity, and these requests are processed by a national commission, the CAPADD. Since 31 March 2025, the date set by a decree of August 2023, only gametes from donors who have agreed to disclose their identity may be used.
There were fears of a shortage. By that date, fewer than 30,000 straws remained from the old anonymous stock, the majority of which were unusable; however, a new stock of over 100,000 straws, from 2,177 donors, had been built up by the end of 2024, representing approximately two years’ worth of demand. The figures for 2025 show no increase in waiting times: the average waiting time remained at 17.7 months, and 1,015 men came forward as donors, compared with an average of 380 before the 2021 law.
In France, assisted reproductive technology (ART) is 100 per cent covered by the national health insurance scheme, up to a limit of six inseminations and four IVF cycles. The age limits are strict: egg retrieval is possible up to a woman’s 43rd birthday, and the woman carrying the pregnancy may undergo ART up to her 45th birthday.
Work out the figures based on your age. A woman who registers on her 42nd birthday and waits the average of 17.7 months will have her first attempt at around 43 and a half, after the age limit for egg retrieval has passed. She can still undergo inseminations or an embryo transfer up to the age of 45, but IVF involving egg retrieval is no longer possible in France. It is this calculation, rather than the waiting time itself, that needs to be made early on.
Greek law permits single women, regardless of their marital status, to undergo treatment up to the age of 54; from the age of 50 and one day, authorisation from the National Authority for Medically Assisted Reproduction is required. Consent from a single woman must be given by means of a notarised document. In the case of a female couple, Greek law does not recognise the couple as such: one of the two must undertake the process as a single woman. Both situations are detailed in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) for single women in Greece and Female couples and ART in Greece.
Sperm donors must be under 40 years of age. Greek clinics rely heavily on foreign banks: in 2025, out of 1,832 recipients of donor sperm recorded by the National Authority, 1,270 received a sample from abroad. The waiting time is therefore mainly due to the preparation of the application: generally two to four months between the initial contact and treatment. The process is described in the article on sperm donation in Greece.
In France, a child born through donation may request the donor’s identity upon reaching the age of majority. In Greece, donation is anonymous by default; since 2022, the law has also provided for forms of non-anonymous donation, but these remain rare in practice. The Greek Civil Code stipulates, in particular, that the donor’s identity may be disclosed to the child once they reach the age of majority. If this is important to you, ask the clinic, before you begin, whether a donor who has agreed to this option is available. To discuss this with your child later, see telling your child that they were born through donation.
The choice between insemination and IVF depends on your age and your medical assessment; it is up to the doctor to make the recommendation. For insemination, cycle monitoring takes place at home and the stay generally lasts two days; IVF with egg retrieval requires eight to twelve days on site, or two short stays. The success rates and costs are compared in the article on insemination abroad.
It can be used if you are insured in France, but nothing is automatic. For assisted reproductive treatment in another European Union country, the French health insurance scheme requires prior authorisation from the National Centre for Healthcare Abroad; if authorisation is granted, you will receive the S2 form. If you have paid all the costs upfront and opted for the rate applicable in the country of treatment, it states that ‘you will be entitled to the higher reimbursement basis’ between that of that country and that of France; if you have only paid part of the costs upfront, a ‘differential top-up’ may be available. As a guide, the French rates published in 2026 are €247.64 for artificial insemination and €2,774.76 for IVF with sperm donation and embryo transfer, with a fixed-rate assisted reproductive technology (ART) travel allowance covering ‘100 per cent of the cost up to a limit of €300’, applicable only to the person receiving the treatment.
Two caveats. The application must be made before treatment begins. And the Health Insurance website does not state whether an anonymous donation carried out abroad affects the outcome: ask this question in writing before committing to anything. The step-by-step procedure is set out in the article on the S2 form.
Greece isn’t the only option: Belgium, which is closer, also accepts single women and female couples; see Belgium or Greece for assisted reproduction. If you’d like us to look at your schedule together, please write to me.
According to the French Biomedicine Agency, the average waiting time for assisted reproductive technology (ART) involving sperm donation was 17.7 months in 2025, as it was in 2024, with variations ranging from 8 to 28 months depending on the clinic.
The published figures do not show this: the average waiting time remained at 17.7 months in 2025, and the waiting list fell from 10,600 to 8,700 people. A stock of over 100,000 straws from donors who had agreed to disclose their identity had been built up prior to the change.
Yes. Greek law permits single women up to the age of 54, provided they give their consent via a notarised document. Donation is anonymous by default; since 2022, the law has also provided for forms of non-anonymous donation, but these remain rare in practice.
Partial reimbursement is possible within the European Union, but only with prior authorisation from the National Centre for Healthcare Abroad, provided via the S2 form. You must apply for this before any treatment begins.
Source: https://fertilitegrece.com/en/blog/france-donor-sperm-waiting-times/ — Triada Baloukoudis, IVF patient coordination in Greece. General information, not medical or legal advice. Printed on
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