Ministry of Health and Welfare Launches New Projects... Support for Freezing Costs and More
The egg freezing procedure cost support project currently implemented by Chungbuk Province will be promoted as a new project by the Ministry of Health and Welfare starting next year. Egg freezing is a fertility preservation method that involves freezing healthy eggs for future use when pregnancy is desired.
Chungbuk Province announced on the 13th that this project will be promoted as a new Ministry of Health and Welfare project from next year. As the average age of marriage and childbirth has recently increased, women planning to have children are considering or undergoing egg freezing.
The newborn room of a postpartum care center in Seoul city last February. [Photo by Joint Coverage/Yonhap News]
Previously, on a broadcast, entertainer Song Haena expressed concerns about whether she should freeze her eggs, and singer Jo Hyun-ah revealed that she had frozen her eggs. Entertainer Jang Doyeon has also frozen her eggs. Broadcaster Seo Dong-joo showed her attempt at egg freezing on Channel A’s “Great Birth.”
Egg freezing is done in preparation for the decline of ovarian function or expected decrease in eggs due to certain diseases as women age. As the age of pregnancy for women continues to rise, the need for egg freezing is also increasing.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare supports the freezing of reproductive cells (sperm and eggs) and initial storage (for one year) costs in cases where permanent infertility is expected. Women can receive up to 2 million KRW, and men up to 300,000 KRW. Additionally, if frozen reproductive cells are used for actual pregnancy, up to 2 million KRW is supported.
Since August last year, the province has been the first in the country to implement a project supporting egg freezing procedure costs. From this year, the support target has been expanded to provide up to 2 million KRW regardless of income or ovarian function.
Until now, government infertility policies have targeted couples, with no support for unmarried women. However, it is known that the province initiated this project reflecting the increase in infertility due to rising age at first marriage and the growing social demands of women.
Egg freezing involves stimulating ovulation to retrieve eggs and then freezing and preserving them. Some patients may experience ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. In such cases, hospitalization treatment is required.
Meanwhile, in Japan, demand for infertility treatments is increasing, but many give up due to expensive procedure costs. As a result, private insurance and policies supporting procedure costs have been introduced one after another. Japanese life insurance company Nippon Life launched the industry’s first insurance covering infertility treatment costs in 2016. Also, the Japanese government included artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection under public insurance coverage starting April 2022 to reduce the economic burden of infertility treatments.
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