A doctor opens a liquid nitrogen storage container for sperm or eggs at the assisted reproductive medicine center of Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Photo: VCG

A deputy with the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress has suggested a pilot scheme be introduced for local hospitals to offer egg-freezing services to single women.

The deputy Zhou Yuan has proposed legalizing assisted reproductive technology (ART) to single women to meet a growing demand among Chinese women, especially those aged over 35.

The use of ART by unmarried women, including egg-freezing surgery, does not meet China's provisions of the technical specification for assisted human reproduction. Only married women who want to have test-tube babies, and single women suffering from malignant tumors are allowed to freeze their eggs.

Both the birth and marriage rates in Zhejiang rank the lowest in the country and the province is also facing an increasing aging problem, which determine the urgency of opening egg freezing services, Zhou said.

"Zhejiang is a relatively advanced province which has the economic foundation and suitable environment to initiate a pilot scheme," Zhou told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The proposal suggests identifying a number of qualified hospitals across the province to initiate the pilot scheme and working out a series of standardized management regulations.

Zhou suggested that staff at local hospitals should be trained in offering ART to provide a solid foundation for the launch of fertility services that would be accessible to more people.

Zhou also said the applicants' physical and psychological health and their reasons for wanting to freeze their eggs would need to be checked and verified.

For women with ovary-related disease who can receive ART services, Zhou suggested a "green channel" for them to expedite the review and approval procedures.

Since frozen eggs are not immediately used in fertility treatment, Zhou suggested that single women who apply for and successfully freeze their eggs should sign agreements on the preservation and proper use of their eggs in the future.

Regulations should be made to avoid potential problems such egg sales, surrogacy and other social, legal and ethical issues that could arise from egg-freezing services.

Zhou added that hospitals and related departments should properly track and manage the whole process and should have the authority to investigate and punish any violations of laws and regulations.

"Eggs should be considered the owner's property, so how they will be used should be regulated," said Zhou, who added that her proposal is not meant to promote egg freezing but to provide women with more flexibility in making choices on their preferred lifestyle.

China's first trial of a single woman fighting for the right to freeze her eggs was held at the Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing on December 23, 2019.

The plaintiff named Xu Zaozao (pseudonym) consulted the reproductive department of a Beijing hospital for oocyte cryopreservation and relevant examinations to confirm her body and eggs were in a healthy state.

However, doctors said according to existing rules, the hospital is unable to offer egg-freezing services to single women. Thus, Xu took the hospital to court for violating general personal rights and the case has sparked widespread discussion.