Send an alert

What is a whistleblower?

According to law°2022-401 of March 21, 2022, "a whistleblower is a natural person who reports or discloses, without direct financial consideration and in good faith, information concerning a crime, an offence, a threat or harm to the general interest, a violation or an attempt to conceal a violation of an international commitment duly ratified or approved by France, of a unilateral act of an international organization taken on the basis of such a commitment, of European Union law, or of the law or regulations. When the information has not been obtained in the course of the professional activities mentioned in I of Article 8, the whistleblower must have had personal knowledge of it. Facts, information and documents, whatever their form or medium, the revelation or disclosure of which is prohibited by provisions relating to national defense secrecy, medical secrecy, the secrecy of judicial deliberations, the secrecy of judicial investigations or inquiries (...) are excluded from the whistleblowing regime defined in this chapter".

Which alerts should be sent to the Agence de la biomédecine?

The Agence de la biomédecine is empowered to investigate all alerts falling within its areas of competence:

• Organ, tissue and cell procurement and transplantation;
• Assisted reproduction;
• Pre-implantation diagnosis, prenatal diagnosis and medical genetics;
• The Agency reserves the right to re-address to another administration any alert that does not fall within its areas of competence.

How do I report an alert to the Agency?

There are two ways to report an alert:

1. By post to the Agence de la biomédecine in a double envelope: the inner envelope should bear only the words: "Signalement d'une alerte" ("Reporting an alert"). The outer envelope should bear only the following address: Agence de la biomédecine -1 avenue du Stade de France - 93212 Saint Denis La Plaine Cedex. It is essential to follow these instructions, which guarantee the confidentiality of the alert.
2. Using the online form

What guarantees are there for whistle-blowers?

The Agency guarantees strict respect for the confidentiality of the whistleblower's identity. The whistleblower also benefits from a protective framework instituted by:

• Law no. 2016-1691 of December 9, 2016, amended by Law no. 2022-401 of March 21, 2022 aimed at improving the protection of whistleblowers.
• Decree no. 2022-1284 of October 3, 2022 on procedures for collecting and processing whistleblower alerts and establishing the list of external authorities instituted by law no. 2022-401 of March 21, 2022 aimed at improving the protection of whistleblowers. The links below provide access to useful information:

How are alerts handled?

The Agence de la biomédecine has set up a dedicated system for collecting and analyzing alerts: whistle-blowers are informed in writing of the receipt of their alert within 7 working days of its receipt. If the alert does not fall within the scope of the "whistleblower" procedure, the whistleblower is informed of this, and of any redirection of the alert to another administration. Within 3 months (which may be extended to 6 months if the case is complex), the whistleblower is informed of the admissibility of his or her alert, and of the means and deadlines for follow-up action. The whistle-blower is notified in writing of the final outcome of the measures taken.