China is considering the nationwide liberalisation of in-vitro fertility (IVF) treatments as it seeks to combat demographic decline. According to local reports, authorities in Beijing are considering allowing unmarried and single women to freeze their eggs and receive IVF treatment. Additionally, they would be permitted to take paid maternity leave and receive child subsidies that were previously only available to married couples.
Although the recommendations were proposed in March, Chinese leaders have not yet publicly commented on them. These services are already available to unmarried women in Shanghai and the southern Guangdong province, but IVF for single women is still prohibited. If the policy is changed, the country is expected to experience a surge in demand for IVF services. However, it could also lead to an even larger capacity issue.
The fall in birth rate has been attributed to many factors, including high costs of education and child-rearing. The National Health Commission (NHC) has noted that many young women are delaying marriage or having children later in life due to these reasons, which has contributed to declining marriage rates. The government estimates that there are 539 public and private IVF facilities in China.
The NHC aims to establish one facility for every 2.3 million people by 2025, which would increase the total number of facilities to over 600. These facilities, both public and private, provide around one million rounds of IVF treatment annually. This is compared with 1.5 million cycles in the rest of the world, according to academic journals and industry experts.
The cost of a cycle is regulated in China, ranging between $3,500 and $4,500, which is about a quarter of the price in the US.
Chen, a 33-year-old divorced woman from Chengdu who is ten weeks pregnant, said that many single women want to receive IVF treatment legally in private clinics. She added that becoming a single parent is not for everyone, but she is happy with her decision.
Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern Sichuan province, legalised the registration of children by unmarried women in February. Chen believes that it is up to each individual to decide whether to get married or not, and that liberalising policies has allowed many single women to undergo IVF treatments.
Yve Lyppens, Director of Business Development for Asia Pacific at INVO Bioscience, said that if China changes its policy to allow single women to have children, there could be an increase in demand for IVF treatment.
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