Article 24 of the Saudi Fertility Units Law

المادة 24 من نظام وحدات الإخصاب والأجنة وعلاج العقم · الباب الثالث: شروط الترخيص لوحدات الإخصاب والأجنحة وعلاج العقم

The article bars licensing a fertilization, embryo and infertility treatment laboratory unless it is within a licensed fertility unit.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

لا يجوز الترخيص لمعمل الإخصاب والأجنة وعلاج العقم إلا ضمن وحدة إخصاب مرخص لها.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 24 explained in plain English

This article deals with fertilization and embryo laboratories and provides that they are not licensed independently:

What is prohibited: licensing a fertilization, embryo and infertility treatment laboratory separately.
The condition: the laboratory must be within a fertility unit.
Description of the unit: the unit itself must be licensed.

This means a fertility laboratory may not be set up to operate on its own outside a licensed unit; the laboratory is part of the unit and follows its license. Under Article 1, a unit is any medical unit, government or private, that carries out fertilization, embryo and infertility treatment procedures, whether independent or part of a health institution.

The evident purpose of this provision is that the laboratory's work, such as fertilization and storing zygotes and embryos, remains under the supervision of a licensed unit that is subject to the Law.

This article follows Article 23, which obliges units to announce their licensed level together with their name on their signs and printed materials. It is followed by Article 25, which permits reproductive techniques requiring laparoscopy or general anesthesia only in units inside a hospital or units holding a permit for day surgery.

A person planning to set up a laboratory in this field may consult a lawyer who specializes in health regulations.

Practical example

A medical laboratories company in Jeddah wants to open a laboratory specialized in fertilizing ova to serve several clinics. This laboratory may not be licensed separately; it must be within a licensed fertility unit.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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