Abstract
Objective. To survey access to Artificial Reproduction Technology (ART) treatments in 2004 with regard to legislation, geographical location, financing and the kind of ART treatments provided in the Nordic countries. Design. Retrospective descriptive survey of practice at ART clinics and legislation. Setting. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Sample. Sixty-six ART clinics registered with the Nordic Fertility Society in autumn 2005. Methods. A questionnaire was sent to all ART clinics and a survey of legislation concerning ART treatments and public statistics was performed. The response rate was 79%. Main outcome measures. Access to ART treatments. Results. The differences in legislation among the countries mainly concerns gamete donation. Couples living in larger cities or densely populated areas have best access to ART treatments. With regard to subsidizing of treatment costs, Finland and Denmark seem to be the best of the Nordic countries. Conclusions. The main differences among the countries concern the legislation, the cost of the treatments and how those are subsidized.