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MELBOURNE (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Prospective Chinese mothers are increasingly travelling abroad for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and egg-freezing treatments.
More Chinese women are visiting fertility centres in countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and even as far afield as the United States, as they look to start, or expand, their families.
A number of factors are contributing to Chinese women seeking IVF abroad. The most notable are China's family-planning policy's relaxation, women deciding to start families later, and a lack of sufficient fertility options and long wait times at centres in China.
IVF is the process of combining a female egg and male sperm in a laboratory dish and implanting the resulting embryo in the woman's uterus.
Paul McTaggart, CEO of Bangkok-based healthcare consultancy Medical Departures, told China Daily that "excess demand for IVF treatment, limited clinics available and months in waiting for consultation appointments" are among the factors driving Chinese women to seek programs abroad.
"The legality of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and gender selection are also reasons Chinese mothers don't go through IVF domestically," he said, referring to...