Frozen
in Time
Singapore’s ageing
population problems are
well-documented and
there have been many
debates regarding the
best ways to increase
the birth rate. One of
the methods include
ethically controversial
egg freezing.
Rarely highlighted in the Singaporean
media, the egg freezing process is slowly
gaining prominence in many countries
around the world. Two of the main reasons
why egg freezing is entering the public
consciousness are:
• Advancements in the medical industry that have
made the process safer and with higher rates of
success
• The giant strides that women have made in the
corporate world
While the first reason is self-explanatory, the second
reason, when taken at face value, might seem unrelated
to the increasing popularity of egg freezing. However,
dig a little deeper and the implications are quite clear
– as women invest more and more of their time and
energies at work, naturally, other life choices often take a
backseat, like marriage and starting a family.
The first successful case of a human pregnancy using
frozen eggs was reported in 1986 by Dr Christopher Chen
of Australia. More than two decades later, it is estimated
that there have been between 300,000 and 500,000
successful human births using frozen eggs, with numbers
expected to rise exponentially in the next few decades
due to lifestyle choices and longer life expectancies.
In Singapore, egg freezing or oocyte cryopreservation is
only allowed under two circumstances:
1. During the in-vitro fertilisation (IV