Two women in eastern China's Shandong Province who suffered ovarian failure are in advanced pregnancy thanks to frozen-egg techniques, a hospital in Jinan has revealed.

The two women, both from the countryside, received donated eggs in the Shandong Provincial Hospital months ago.

One has been pregnant more than 28 weeks, and the other more than 12 weeks.

Doctor Zhao Lixin with the reproductive medical center of the hospital affiliated to Shandong University said the two women both suffered polycystic ovary syndrome, which caused them to fail to ovulate.

The embryos were transplanted to the two patients after artificial fertilization, and the doctor said they are growing well.

Egg freezing is believed to be a key technology in building a human-egg bank, which can help prolong women's fertility and help realize the dream of children for women who suffer reproduction difficulties.

The technology is of great significance to those women who might face loss of reproduction ability after surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, Zhao said.

Women can keep their eggs by freezing them before medical treatment and hopefully become pregnant afterwards through artificial fertilization.

Fewer than 100 children have been born with the help of this technology.

More than 300 reproductive medical centers in China are doing research in egg freezing, but only six of them have succeeded in resuscitating frozen eggs.

Ten women whave been treated with this technology in Zhao's hospital, but only two became pregnant. 

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2004)