2015年CRI 极具争议的“卵子冰冻”引发更多关注

 

Oocyte cryopreservation, or egg freezing, is a procedure where a woman's ovum are removed, frozen and placed in long-term storage.

When the woman is ready to become pregnant, the eggs can be thawed¹, fertilized² and transferred into her uterus.

The technology is gaining increasing popularity in China, which is seeing a growing number of women, known in Mandarin³ as "Shengnv," choose instead to focus on their careers and put off starting a family until after the age of 27.

Qiao Jie is the head of Peking University Third Hospital that is leading the egg-freezing research in the country.

"There is no official stats on how many babies are born through the procedure in China every year, but the number is gradually increasing. We have conducted more operations every year than before and the total number in hospital has exceeded 300."

The technology has been gaining increased attention after popular Chinese actress Xu Jinglei made public that she's had some of her eggs frozen.

But while she's decided⁴ to consider that option for a later-life pregnancy⁵, the procedure still has its skeptics among women in China.

"I may choose it if necessary. The quality of eggs will decline as age grows. So I would undergo the operation for the sake of my child's health."

"I don't think it's a reliable way. There is no doubt that the natural fertilization is much better."

Rumours⁶ have been circulating in China that undergoing he procedure may bring on early menopause.

Gynocologist Doctor Qiao Jie says there is no truth to that rumor⁷.

However, she notes the success rate of the operation is less than 30-percent.

She also says patients who want to undergo the procedure do it as early as possible.

"The success rate depends heavily on the quality of oocyte. The quality of oocyte varies a lot according to one's age. Generally speaking, the younger, the better."

There are also questions about the potential health of a child born through a frozen embryo⁸.

Doctor Qiao says they've yet to find any proof that this could be a concern.

However, she notes the procedure is still in its early stages in China.

"It seems safe at present. But the technology is still young and has only been applied⁹ to a limited number of people. We need more time to observe the side effects of the procedure."

Since its development some 30-years ago, around 24-hundred children have been born via this procedure around the globe.

China's first frozen-egg birth took place 11-years ago.

Under the current rules in China, both single and married women can have their eggs frozen.

However, only married women with the proper birth permits are allowed to use the eggs.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

1 thawed   

解冻

参考例句：

• The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 Fertilized   

v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics. 心理学研究最近从遗传学的新发现中受益匪浅。
• Flowers are often fertilized by bees as they gather nectar. 花常在蜜蜂采蜜时受粉。

3 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

6 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

7 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

8 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

9 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。