A growing number of single women are interested in having a baby through artificial insemination, but are still banned from doing so, according to Chinese regulations.

The Shanghai-based Renji Hospital Reproductive Medicine Center reportedly has been receiving calls from local single women inquiring about having children through artificial insemination.

Many of the women, mostly in their 30s and 40s, say they haven't found a suitable husband yet, the Shanghai Evening Post reported on Friday.

The typical single woman who calls the center is one who has had a relatively successful career but has realized that she wants a baby, the report said.

"Artificial insemination is used to assist in reproductive technology, and so far is only available for infertile couples. Single women are not allowed to have children through such technology, according to related laws and regulations," Ping Ping, a doctor at the center, told China Daily on Friday.

"If this technology became available for single women, many children will be brought into the world without a father. That will create grave social problems," said Li Zheng, director of Shanghai Sperm Bank.

In addition, the quantity of donated sperm is not enough to meet the demand of the increasing number of couples wanting to have children through artificial insemination, Ping said.

According to the Shanghai Sperm Bank, the rate of a successful sperm donation is only one to two percent. In the bank's six-year history, only 1,000 or so men qualified as donors, meeting the national standard of both physical and mental health.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2009)