Egg freezing is now available at the private Kiang Wu Hospital, and the whole process takes about a month, with the cost similar to that of neighbouring regions, averaging about 40,000 patacas, Assistant Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Dr Iau Sok I said on Friday.
Dr Iau made the remarks during a press conference at the Kiang Wu Hospital Dr Henry Y.T. Fok Specialist Medical Centre on Friday introducing its new egg freezing service, adding that the use of the service requires prior consultation and assessment of the suitability of the user’s physical conditions, followed by ovulation induction and egg retrieval surgery.
According to Dr Iau, in the past five years, Kiang Wu Hospital’s Assisted Reproduction Centre has received 9,857 patients, completed 567 In vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycles and 362 artificial inseminations, with a total of more than 150 couples giving birth after undergoing treatment or IVF, and the babies are healthy.
Dr Iau said the Assisted Reproduction Centre of Kiang Wu Hospital has also received many enquiries regarding its egg freezing service, reflecting that there is a great demand for the service in Macau.
A new law regulating assisted reproductive technology (ART) services came into effect in February.
Dr Iau pointed out that the incidence of cancer in young women is gradually increasing and cancer damages the ovaries so that to preserve fertility, coupled with the situation of some “late marriages and late childbearing”, therefore, egg freezing is an important part of preserving women’s fertility.
Egg freezing is scientifically known as oocyte cryopreservation.
Assistant Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Dr Iau Sok I poses during a press conference at the private Kiang Wu Hospital’s Dr Henry Y.T.Fok Specialist Medical Centre on Friday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
