The city of Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, is subsidizing efforts to help female residents freeze and store eggs for future use. It is also considering offering male residents the option to store frozen sperm.
The Urayasu oocyte cryopreservation program will be delivered at a new infertility treatment centre being established at a cost of 90 million yen ($755,500), in cooperation with the Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital. The aim is to counter a low birthrate and support future pregnancies, but the city also expects people at risk of becoming infertile due to cancer treatments to make use of the programme.
The plan could cut the cost to an individual of freezing an egg by more than two-thirds.
Signal of change spotted by Anna Simpson
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