The decision by a famous Chinese actress to freeze her eggs in the United States has sparked heated debate in China. Many young Chinese women want to have their eggs frozen, but find themselves legally barred from doing so.

Last month, 41-year old film star and director Xu Jinglei announced that she'd frozen nine of her eggs in the US to keep her chances of having a baby in the future.

In an interview, she said she regretted not having done it sooner.

And Xu isn't the only one. There's been increasing number of women turning to cryo-preservation.

"There is no statistical data on how many frozen eggs there are in the country. But the number is gradually growing. Every year our center will take dozens of cases, whereas there were very few before. So far, we have 300 cases," Dr. Qiao Jie with Peking University Third Hospital said.

While the process to extract a woman's eggs takes just 10 to 15 minutes. The debate has been raging for years.

For many women still searching for their Mr. Right, or prioritizing their careers. The choice to freeze their eggs is as much a medical as a personal one.

But for unmarried women in China, egg freezing isn't an option.

In order to comply with the country's family planning policy, women wanting the procedure must provide a marriage certificate.

"For example, if an unmarried woman wants to preserve her eggs because she has cancer, we can freeze the eggs. But any fertilization of her eggs would only happen after she's gotten legally married," Dr. Qiao Jie said.

Though for now many women remain frozen out, they remain hopeful their motherhood dreams will soon become a reality.

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