CA Health & Safety Code Section 1644.6


(a)

No physician and surgeon shall be subject to liability for damages for any cause of action based solely on the use of sperm donated by a sexually intimate partner of the recipient if both of the following conditions are met:

(1)

The physician and surgeon provides insemination or assisted reproductive technology services and has obtained the informed consent of the recipient, who waives second or other repeat testing of the sexually intimate partner and acknowledges and accepts the risks of using sperm from a sexually intimate partner who has not undergone repeat testing, in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 1644.5.

(2)

The physician and surgeon complies with the applicable requirements specified in Section 1644.5.

(b)

No physician and surgeon shall be subject to disciplinary action against his or her professional license, or subject to peer review by a professional association peer review body, as defined in clause (iii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 805 of the Business and Professions Code, because the physician and surgeon used sperm donated by a sexually intimate partner of the recipient in providing insemination or assisted reproductive technology services if both of the following conditions are met:

(1)

The physician and surgeon has obtained the informed consent of the recipient who waives second or other repeat testing of the sexually intimate partner and acknowledges and accepts the risks of using sperm from a sexually intimate partner who has not undergone repeat testing, in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 1644.5.

(2)

The physician and surgeon complies with the applicable requirements specified in Section 1644.5.

(c)

A tissue bank that is owned and operated by a physician and surgeon shall not be subject to disciplinary action against its license because of the use of sperm donated by a sexually intimate partner of the recipient in providing insemination or assisted reproductive technology services if both of the following conditions are met:

(1)

A physician and surgeon affiliated with the tissue bank has obtained the informed consent of the recipient, who waives second or other repeat testing of the sexually intimate partner and acknowledges and accepts the risks of using sperm from a sexually intimate partner who has not undergone repeat testing, in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 1644.5.

(2)

The physician and surgeon complies with the applicable requirements specified in Section 1644.5.

(d)

Nothing in this section shall create a duty for a physician and surgeon to use sperm donated by a sexually intimate partner of the recipient in providing insemination or assisted reproductive technology services if the physician and surgeon reasonably concludes that the insemination or services do not meet the 2008 American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines for gamete and embryo donation.

(e)

Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any liability that may be imposed pursuant to a federal rule or regulation when a physician and surgeon, or tissue bank provides insemination or assisted reproductive technology services.

(f)

For purposes of this section, “sexually intimate partner” includes a known or designated donor to whose sperm the recipient has previously been exposed in a nonmedical setting in an attempt to conceive.
Last Updated

Aug. 19, 2023

§ 1644.6’s source at ca​.gov