Transparency International in BiH has sued the Federal Ministry of Health for refusing to provide information on whether a commission has been formed to decide on the transfer of embryos and reproductive material of patients following the closure of the IVF clinic Northwestern Medical Center in Sarajevo to another healthcare institution.
The case relates to an incident that caused significant public concern at the end of last year after dozens of patients were left without access to their own reproductive material and embryos stored at this facility. Following the sudden closure of the clinic in mid-October 2025, patients’ biological material remained on the premises, and patients were left without clear information about its status and the possibility of accessing it.
According to patients who contacted TI BiH, the closure of the clinic jeopardized their fundamental rights, such as the right to treatment and the right to decide about their own biological material. Additional concern was caused by information that the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Health Inspectorate made a decision to relocate the biological material to the Zenica Cantonal Hospital for inventory and registration, but that the hospital refused to accept it, after which the case was forwarded to the competent prosecutor’s office.
Patients requested that competent institutions enable them to independently decide on the transfer of their gametes and embryos to healthcare institutions of their choice, but according to their claims, they received no response. Due to the lack of institutional response, they organized protests in front of the Government of the Federation of BiH building at the beginning of the year, demanding urgent resolution of the problem.
TI BiH determined that the Law on Treatment of Infertility by Biomedically Assisted Reproduction of the Federation of BiH prescribes the obligation to form a commission that decides on the justification for transferring gametes, reproductive tissue, or embryos to another authorized healthcare institution. Therefore, TI BiH requested information from the Federal Ministry of Health on whether such a commission was formed, whether it acted on patients’ requests, and whether decisions were made regarding the transfer of stored reproductive material. The Ministry did not respond to the request, nor to the subsequent reminder and appeal against administrative silence.
Following this, TI BiH requested intervention from the Federal Administrative Inspectorate, seeking inspection supervision of the Ministry’s work. After failing to receive the requested information even after contacting the Federal Administrative Inspectorate, TI BiH initiated administrative proceedings for non-action before the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo against the Federal Ministry of Health, which resulted in patients not receiving feedback about their own biological material even eight months after the closure of the Northwestern Medical Center clinic in Sarajevo.
TI BiH warns that the conduct of the Federal Ministry of Health in this case raises serious questions about institutional responsibility and oversight of private healthcare institutions, particularly given the sensitive nature of the matter.
Furthermore, the fact that this is not the first case in which citizens’ rights have been jeopardized following the closure of companies engaged in storing reproductive material requires that controls in this area must be far more rigorous, and the conduct of competent authorities not only more transparent but also more adequate.
