Many couples have said that they are at present very busy with their work and have no time to have a child. So they hope that their sperm and egg cells can be kept in storage for now and they will be able to take them out when they want to have a baby in the future.

It is not a dream for couples to freeze their embryos for future use, said doctor Fang Cong, at the No.1 Hospital affiliated with the Zhongshan University of Medicine. The technique to freeze embryos has been put into clinical use since the 1980s, Fang added.

The reproduction center of the hospital has been successful in freezing embryos for one to five years and then "waking them up" to grow test tube babies.

Fang said that the center has no experience in freezing embryos for healthy couples, because a lot of work still needs to be done to improve the survival rates. She added, at present, only 70 percent of the frozen embryos can survive and only just over 20 percent of the people involved are able to become pregnant.

Moreover, it costs a couple at least 15,000 yuan to freeze each embryo, she said.

Among those who want to freeze their embryos are couples who already have a child, but are worried that their child may have an unexpected accident.

According to a report on China Central Television (CCTV), some people are skeptical about the technology, and they are afraid that the embryo may be frozen to death or the quality of the embryo may be degraded.

(People's Daily 07/25/2001)