Frozen eggs give birth to heated debate by celebrities online

File photo of a doctor checking the frozen embryos contained in the nitrogen cylinders at Luoyang Central Hospital affiliated to Zhengzhou University in Luoyang city, Central China's Henan province, on Dec 3, 2014. [Photo/IC]

A heated debate has broken out online over whether it is right to ban single women from freezing their eggs after China Central Television posted an explanatory thread in response to an admission by an actress that she has frozen her eggs.

With a video illustrating the pros and cons of having babies with the assistance of Oocyte Cryopreservation, or egg freezing technology, the post generated a huge response and attracted 109,442 reposts, 31,815 comments and 13,715 likes within two days after its publication.

Egg freezing is classified as a supplementary IVF (in vitro fertilization) measure in China and the procedure is only available to married women who must have a valid reproduction permit, as stipulated by the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation issued by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the country's top health body.

The only exceptions are women with conditions such as premature ovarian failure, or those undergoing chemo therapies. Freezing eggs solely for preserving or extending fertility is illegal, the regulation states.

This reproductive technology has become the focus of public discussion partly because 41-year-old Xu Jinglei, a Chinese actress, announced about one month ago that she had frozen nine of her eggs in 2013 to give herself more opportunities of having babies at a later stage.