Voices from the Two Sessions | Member Suggests Trying out “Egg Freezing for Single Women” in Pudong with Strict Control over Criteria
“For single women, cryostoring eggs is an effective strategy to enhance their fertility.” Chen Fangyuan, a member of the Shanghai Political Consultative Conference Committee, stated during the 2025 Shanghai Two Sessions, while being interviewed by The Paper (www.thepaper.cn). In this meeting, she submitted a proposal titled “Recommendations for Pilot Open Selective Oocyte Cryopreservation”, which proposes to pilot open healthy未婚女性 (unmarried women) to undergo “egg freezing” in Pudong New Area.
With the declining birth rate, Chen Fangyuan emphasized the importance of selectively opening “egg freezing” to healthy unmarried women. “Currently, the birth rate in Shanghai is continuously decreasing, and women’s fertility age is also continually pushed back. Statistics show that the average age of first-time pregnancy for female户籍 population (local residents) in 2023 is 31.66 years old, and the average age of childbirth is 32.56 years old.”
Chen further stated that age is the most critical factor determining female fertility. After the age of 32, women’s fertility declines at an even faster rate, and after the age of 37, there is a steep drop-off.
“Many urban women subjectively postpone their fertility age for career and economic reasons. Implementing ‘egg freezing’ for healthy unmarried women can play a role in promoting fertility.” However, Chen also noted that in China, egg freezing belongs to the restricted assisted reproductive technology, which is only applied to the treatment of infertility for married women and the preservation of fertility for cancer patients. It has not yet been opened to healthy unmarried women. In contrast, countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan have already implemented selective oocyte cryopreservation.
Previously, many experts have also proposed the suggestion of “single women’s egg freezing”. In Chen Fangyuan’s view, the implementation of this policy needs to be piloted selectively. “Pudong New Area, as a comprehensive pilot area for China’s reform and opening up, can explore ‘single women’s egg freezing’ through the formulation of relevant laws and regulations, and gradually promote it after不断完善法律法规和相关的制度保障 (continuing to improve laws, regulations, and relevant institutional safeguards).”
Chen Fangyuan also believes that the pilot of “single women’s egg freezing” must adhere to both technological openness and legal restrictions to safeguard women’s health rights and interests.
“China explicitly prohibits the use of assisted reproductive technology for surrogacy and other illegal activities. This should be strictly enforced after conditionally opening selective oocyte cryopreservation for single women. At the same time, it is also necessary to prohibit excessive commercialization and propaganda, and medical institutions should not engage in commercial promotion of ‘egg freezing’ for profit-making purposes. The application of egg freezing should strictly control the indications,” Chen said.
For opening “egg freezing” to healthy unmarried women, Chen Fangyuan suggested there should be some limiting conditions. “For example, to ensure the quality of frozen eggs, a corresponding expert database can be established to formulate scientific and standardized implementation documents, clarifying the age and time of women’s egg freezing. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify which medical institutions in Pudong New Area can carry out this technology, and regulate and supervise the implementation of this technology in the future.”
