Single women in China are not allowed to use the egg freezing technology to preserve fertility, according to the Ministry of Health, after a Chinese celebrity admitted using the technology in July which sparked public debate.

The Ministry of Health said that single women cannot use "assisted reproductive technology" to preserve fertility, while couples must present their marriage certificate, identity cards and birth permits and prove that at least one partner is suffering from fertility difficulties if they want to use the technology, media reported.

Lin Ge, deputy head of the Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of Citic-Xiangya, said the technology started in the 1990s and has mainly been used together with in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

However, following media reports of celebrities who go abroad to use the technology, a growing number in single women have been using the process in China's hospitals.

Lin said that since egg freezing does not necessarily involve IVF, it is not technically an "assisted reproductive technology."

Li Mei, the head of the advanced laboratory of the Reproductive Hospital affiliated with  Shandong University, told the Global Times that the technology still faces challenges despite its high success rate.