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As the number of women delaying motherhood continues to rise, many fertility clinics are starting to offer a new service that allows them to freeze some of their eggs to buy more time on their biological clocks.
At least 138 clinics are freezing and banking eggs -- more than double the number three years ago, according to one count. Hundreds of women have frozen their eggs so far, and the numbers are increasing dramatically, experts say.
"I think we're sitting at that tipping point between technology that is quasi-experimental and tipping over into fairly widespread use," said David A. Grainger, president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, which represents fertility clinics. "It's one of the most exciting areas in our field right now."
The popularity of egg-freezing is driven by advances that have boosted the chances of having a baby using thawed eggs and intensifying demand from childless women in their 30s. But the trend has sparked intense debate about whether the technology is ready for wider use and whether society is ready for its impact.
Proponents say egg-freezing...