What does Malaysian law allow in IVF and fertility treatment?

In Malaysia, IVF and other assisted reproduction may only be offered to a legally married man and woman, using their own eggs and sperm. Donor eggs, donor sperm, donor embryos and surrogacy are not allowed. Choosing a baby's sex is allowed only to avoid a serious inherited disease. These rules apply in every clinic, public or private, and to Malaysian and foreign patients alike.

This page explains what the rules say and where they come from, so you can check them yourself. The sources are listed at the end.

Where the rules come from

Malaysia has no law written specifically for IVF. Fertility treatment is governed by two official documents:

• the Ministry of Health's National Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Policy (2021), which applies to all ART facilities in Malaysia; and
• the Malaysian Medical Council's guideline Medically Assisted Reproduction (2025), which every registered doctor must follow.

Private clinics and hospitals, including fertility centres, also need a licence under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998. When the Ministry of Health issued its policy in 2021, it said a dedicated ART bill was being prepared. As of November 2026 we have not found a record of one being tabled in Parliament.

Who can have treatment

• Married couples only. Treatment may only be offered to a husband and wife in a legal marriage. Unmarried couples and single people cannot have IVF or IUI in Malaysia.
• No fixed age limit. Neither document sets an upper age. Age still matters a great deal for the chance of success, and your doctor will talk this through with you.
• Screening and consent. Both partners are screened for infections, such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis, and both give written consent after the risks have been explained.

The rules do not name a specific document as proof of marriage. Clinics usually ask to see a marriage certificate, so check with your clinic what it needs, especially if you married outside Malaysia.

Donor eggs, sperm and embryos

Not allowed. The Ministry of Health's policy says that donating eggs, sperm or embryos for fertilisation is "unethical and prohibited". Frozen eggs, sperm and embryos may only be used by the people they came from, and buying or selling them, including advertising them, is prohibited.

If you have read that donor treatment is available in Malaysia, that information is wrong. If you have been told your own eggs or sperm are unlikely to work, ask your specialist about the options that are allowed.

Surrogacy

Not allowed. The policy prohibits surrogacy and says that surrogacy agreements cannot be enforced by law in Malaysia, even with a signed contract.

Choosing your baby's sex, and genetic testing of embryos

Choosing a baby's sex for personal or family reasons is not allowed. It is permitted only when one sex carries a serious genetic condition, such as haemophilia or Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Genetic testing of embryos (PGT) is allowed when there is a medical reason for it. All three types are recognised:

• PGT-A checks the number of chromosomes;
• PGT-M checks for a single-gene condition that runs in the family, such as thalassaemia;
• PGT-SR checks for a structural change in a parent's chromosomes.

Testing must be done by a qualified embryologist in a certified ART centre. Using it to choose physical or social traits is prohibited.

How many embryos can be transferred

• Under 40: no more than two embryos at a time.
• 40 and over: no more than three early (day 2–3) embryos or two blastocysts (day 5–6), with the agreement of everyone involved.

These are upper limits, set to lower the risk of twins and triplets. Your doctor will explain how many to transfer in your situation.

How long eggs, sperm and embryos can be stored

Frozen eggs, sperm and embryos can be stored for up to five years. The couple can extend this to a maximum of ten years by written request. Eggs, sperm or tissue frozen to preserve fertility, for example before cancer treatment, can be kept beyond ten years if the patient asks in writing.

Divorce or death

Stored embryos can only be used with the consent of both the husband and the wife. Under the Ministry of Health's policy, embryos are disposed of if the couple divorce or if either of them dies, and a person's frozen eggs or sperm are disposed of after their death. Using them after death (posthumous conception) is not permitted. This is set out in the consent forms you sign before treatment.

A Malaysian family court did, in 2025, give a divorced woman control of a couple's frozen embryos that had been created before the 2021 policy. So if a dispute arises, the courts can have the final say.

Egg freezing if you are single

The Ministry of Health's policy allows eggs to be frozen for medical reasons, such as before cancer treatment, and for non-medical reasons. It does not limit freezing to married women. But because IVF is only for married couples, the eggs can only be used later, with your husband, within marriage.

For Muslim women the position is stricter. The National Fatwa Council ruled in 2003 that combining eggs or sperm collected before marriage is haram, even after the marriage. A national decision reported in 2025 allows freezing before treatment that may cause infertility, such as cancer treatment, for use only within marriage, and the Perlis fatwa committee ruled more leniently in 2025. If this applies to you, speak to your state mufti's office as well as your doctor.

If you are coming from abroad

The same rules apply to foreign patients. There is no separate set of rules by nationality: married couples only, no donors, no surrogacy, no sex selection for personal reasons, and the same embryo and storage limits. Moving frozen eggs, sperm or embryos into or out of Malaysia needs special permission from the Ministry of Health.

What the National Fatwa Council has ruled

Many Malaysian patients also ask whether IVF is permissible in Islam. The National Fatwa Council's main rulings are:

• 1982–83: IVF is permissible when the egg and sperm come from a husband and wife in a valid marriage and are obtained in a way consistent with Islam. A child born this way has full lineage: the child can act as wali and can inherit.
• 2003: placing an embryo in the wife's womb after the husband's death or after divorce is haram.
• 2005: testing embryos for genetic disease in high-risk couples is permissible. Choosing sex is haram, except to avoid a serious genetic disease that can be fatal.
• 2008: surrogacy is haram, even with the couple's own egg and sperm, because it confuses the child's lineage (nasab).

These are national rulings. States can adopt or differ from them, so Muslim patients can also consult their state mufti.

Sources

• Ministry of Health Malaysia, National Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Policy, MOH/P/PAK/459.21(BP), 2021.
• Malaysian Medical Council, Medically Assisted Reproduction, guideline adopted 19 August 2025.
• JAKIM, Kompilasi Pandangan Hukum Muzakarah Jawatankuasa Fatwa Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Ugama Islam Malaysia, 5th printing, 2015.
• Skrine, Frozen Embryos and the Law in Malaysia, April 2025, on RAH v RAL [2025] 4 CLJ 132.

This page explains the rules in general terms. It is not legal or religious advice.