The first Maltese baby conceived through a sperm donation was born over the last few days, said Health Minister Chris Fearne on Tuesday.

Answering a parliamentary question which asked how many intrauterine insemination procedures have happened, Fearne said that a total of nine happened last year.

The Annual report for embryo protection for the year of 2021 was tabled in parliament on Monday.

He added that out of these nine attempts, two resulted in pregnancies, where one of the babies was born over the past few days.

Expanding on the subject, Fearne explained that the process known of IUI uses advanced technology to ascertain that sperm is placed directly in the uterus.

He said thanks to this procedure, if a present male counter has fertility difficulties, it can be replaced with a donor sperm.

Referring to the IVF legislation which has been in place since 2018, he said that this has allowed for more individuals to become parents.

Speaking on behalf of the government he said that when “we witness such new opportunities be created and having a positive impact, we are more encouraged to continue to work for other individuals to have the opportunity to experience this as well.”