Practical guides · Treatment and donors
Can a single woman get IVF or donor insemination in my country?
Of these eight countries, only India and Vietnam clearly let a clinic treat a single woman with donor sperm, and both use an anonymous donor from a sperm bank. Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand allow treatment only for married couples. In Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar we found no law on it. To use a donor you know, the lawful route is a clinic abroad.
Two words first. Insemination (IUI): a doctor places washed sperm in the womb. IVF: eggs are fertilised in a laboratory and an embryo is placed in the womb. An anonymous donor is a man you never meet, chosen by the sperm bank. A known donor is a man you know.
India: single women yes, anonymous bank donor only
The ART (Regulation) Act 2021 serves “any woman above the age of twenty-one years”, with no marriage condition (s.2(1)(u)). Clinics treat women aged 21 to 50 (s.21(g)). Donor sperm must come from a registered ART bank (s.21(b), s.27(1)), and the donor’s identity is kept confidential (s.21(e)). The consent form for donor insemination says you will not try to find out who the donor is (ART Rules 2022, Form 14). The Act has no clause on known donors, but its whole system assumes an anonymous bank donor. Do not expect a clinic to accept a man you bring. Importing sperm is banned (s.33(1)(c)).
Outside a clinic: the Act counts any handling of sperm outside the body and placing it in a woman as ART (s.2(1)(a)). No one may provide ART “in any form” outside a registered clinic or bank (s.15(1)). The penalty is a fine of ₹5 to 10 lakh, and up to 8 years in prison for a repeat offence (s.33(2), s.34). No court has yet said how this applies to private persons, so it is not a lawful route. Check that your clinic is on the National ART and Surrogacy Registry.
Cost: a 2025 government study found average out-of-pocket spending on IVF of about ₹1,10,104 in public hospitals and ₹2,37,851 in private ones.
Malaysia: married couples only
The Malaysian Medical Council guideline (version 2/2025) says treatment “should only be offered to legally married couples” (s.2), and that donating sperm, eggs or embryos “is not permissible and prohibited” (s.5). This applies to every patient, Muslim or not. It is a rule for doctors, not an Act of Parliament, but no Malaysian doctor can lawfully treat a single woman with donor sperm. Single women may freeze their own eggs (s.4).
For Muslims, the Syariah offences law treats a pregnancy outside marriage as first evidence of an offence (Federal Territories Act 559, s.23(3); each state has its own enactment). See having a child alone: the law.
Cost, for married couples: about RM4,000 to 10,000 per IVF cycle in government hospitals and RM20,000 to 30,000 in private ones (Utusan Malaysia, May 2026).
Indonesia: married couples only, no donor sperm
The Health Law 2023 allows assisted reproduction only for “a lawfully married husband and wife”, with their own sperm and egg, by qualified staff, in a facility named by the Minister (Law 17/2023, art. 58; Government Regulation 28/2024, art. 111). A 2025 ministry regulation prohibits sperm donation (Permenkes 2/2025, art. 45(5)).
Since 2 January 2026, the Criminal Code punishes sex between unmarried people (art. 411) and living together as husband and wife (art. 412), but only on a complaint by the person’s husband or wife, parent or child. See having a child alone: the law.
Cost, for married couples: IVF about Rp60 to 120 million per cycle, IUI about Rp3 to 7 million (Popmama, 2026).
Thailand: married couples only
The ART Act 2015 says insemination must be done on “a woman who has a lawful husband” (s.19), and donor sperm needs the written consent of both spouses (s.20). Since January 2025 this also covers a registered same-sex spouse, but not a single woman. A draft amendment put to public hearing in July 2026 keeps this rule. The same applies to women from other countries.
Only a doctor may provide ART, including the use of donated sperm (s.35). The penalty is up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to ฿200,000, or both (s.50). Placing sperm without intercourse is ART under the Act, whoever does it.
Cost, for married couples: IUI about ฿9,200 to 11,500 per cycle, IVF about ฿157,000 to 270,000 (HDmall package listings, 2026).
Vietnam: single women yes, anonymous donor only
Since 1 October 2025, Decree 207/2025 allows treatment for “single women who wish it”, with no medical reason needed (art. 3(4)). Donation is anonymous between donor and recipient (art. 3(3)), so a known donor is not allowed. One donor’s sperm may help only one woman or couple (art. 3(2)). Insemination with donor sperm must take place in a facility licensed for IVF (art. 6(1)). The single woman is the child’s mother, and the donor has no legal link to the child (Law on Marriage and Family 2014, art. 93).
Cost: IUI about 8 to 15 million ₫ per attempt, IVF about 70 to 90 million ₫ per cycle (Tâm Anh General Hospital estimate).
Cambodia
We found no law on who clinics may treat. We found no clinic in Phnom Penh that openly treats single women with donor sperm, and no published prices.
Laos
We found no law or decree on assisted reproduction. The public Mother and Newborn Hospital in Vientiane offers IUI and, since 2025, IVF. We found no rule on whether it treats single women, no source on donor sperm and no published prices. Note: if the man is married, the Penal Code 2017 punishes adultery for both people, on the spouse’s complaint (art. 247).
Myanmar
We found no law or Ministry of Health guideline on assisted reproduction. Private clinics work in Yangon and Mandalay. No source mentions donor sperm or a sperm bank, and no clinic publishes prices. Health services have been badly disrupted since 2021.
When your country says no
If your country’s clinics cannot treat a single woman, or cannot use a donor you know, the lawful route is a clinic abroad, in a country whose law allows it. See treatment abroad and tests to ask a donor for.
Checked October 2026. A guide only, not medical advice. Prices change and no clinic can promise a pregnancy. Laws change: check the rules in force in your country with the clinic before you pay.
Sources
- India: Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021, ss.2(1)(a), 2(1)(u), 15(1), 21, 27, 33, 34 (Gazette of India, via PRS); ART Rules 2022, Form 14; ICMR-NIRRCH, Health Technology Assessment Policy Brief 79, January 2025 (htain.dhr.gov.in), checked October 2026.
- Malaysia: Malaysian Medical Council, Guideline “Medically Assisted Reproduction” V2/2025, ss.2, 4, 5 (mmc.gov.my); Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 (Act 559), s.23; Utusan Malaysia, May 2026, checked October 2026.
- Indonesia: Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health, art. 58; Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024, art. 111; Permenkes No. 2 of 2025, art. 45; Law No. 1 of 2023 (Criminal Code), arts 411, 412, 624; Popmama, 2026, checked October 2026.
- Thailand: Protection of a Child Born by Medically Assisted Reproductive Technology Act B.E. 2558 (2015), ss.3, 19, 20, 35, 50 (Royal Gazette copy, Department of Health Service Support); Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No. 24) B.E. 2567, s.67; HDmall listings, 2026, checked October 2026.
- Vietnam: Decree 207/2025/ND-CP of 15 July 2025, arts 3, 5, 6 (signed copy, Hue city government); Law on Marriage and Family No. 52/2014/QH13, art. 93; Tâm Anh General Hospital price page, checked October 2026.
- Laos: Vientiane Times, 2025, on the Mother and Newborn Hospital; Penal Code 2017, arts 41, 247 (English translation, Lao Trade Portal), checked October 2026.
- Myanmar: WHO and Health Cluster Myanmar bulletin, June 2026, checked October 2026.
In Option B, he helps only by artificial insemination, and only where the law allows. See Option B.