The Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine says it has compiled draft guidelines that would effectively allow unmarried women to preserve their eggs cryogenically under certain conditions for use later in life.
The group is proposing the new guidelines in response to growing calls from women to enable them to preserve their eggs while they are young. The trend for people to marry later means some women decide they want to have children after they reach an age that makes getting pregnant difficult.
Cryogenic preservation of ova is generally restricted in Japan to married couples undergoing fertility treatment and women who may lose their ovary functions as a result of radiation therapy to treat cancer and other diseases. This is in accordance with guidelines from the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and other bodies.