Explainer: What is egg freezing that South Korean women are opting for?   

As the child-rearing costs surge, South Korean women are looking to freeze eggs for future, media reports said. This procedure also gives them an ample amount of time to prepare for starting a family without worrying about their biological clock. The freezing of eggs seems to have become one of the best ways to buy reproductive time. It is nowadays being explored by women around the whole world.  

Around 1,200 unmarried single women had gone for egg freezing last year at CHA Medical Center, which is the largest fertility clinic chain in South Korea. The number of women going for this procedure has doubled over two years.  

This comes as the fertility rate, which is the average number of children born to a woman in reproductive life, was only 0.81 in South Korea last year.   

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The rising costs of living, such as housing and education, seems to be a big reason behind the move in South Korea.  

Public servant Lim Eun-young, who had some of her eggs frozen in November, told Reuters, "It's a big relief and it gives me peace of mind to know that I have healthy eggs frozen right here."  

But, what is egg freezing?  

Egg freezing is the process of freezing unfertilised eggs of women for future use. It is also called oocyte cryopreservation. It is a type of fertility preservation.  

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In this procedure, the eggs are harvested from the ovaries. The unfertilised eggs are frozen in the laboratory and stored to be used later.   

These eggs have not combined with sperm. People can get as many eggs frozen as they want.   

Later, it can also be combined with in vitro fertilisation. After the fertilisation, these eggs can be implanted in the uterus of the woman to help her get pregnant and have children.  

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(With inputs from agencies)