Vietnam's new policy lets single women freeze eggs, have children on their own terms

The change, outlined in a new decree, removes the old rule that required a specialist's approval. Now, personal choice is enough. Many women today choose not to marry but still want the opportunity to become mothers, officials said, explaining the foundation of the new rule.

Under the new policy, single women can also receive donated embryos if they cannot use their own eggs.

This reflects modern realities, Nguyen Viet Tien, former Deputy Minister of Health, said on July 30.

While the legal update is new, single women have quietly been turning to IVF for years, typically using their own eggs fertilized with anonymous donor sperm from licensed banks, which keep donor identities confidential, Tien added.

Egg freezing, once rare and mainly used by married couples facing infertility, has surged among single women. At Hanoi Medical University Hospital's reproductive center, annual cases have jumped from 30–50 five years ago to around 100 today, most from single women.

One hospital in Hanoi has frozen eggs for about 350 women, with 5–7 new cases each month.

Egg freezing allows women to preserve their fertility for years. Later, the eggs can be thawed, fertilized and implanted, enabling healthy pregnancies even beyond peak reproductive age.

Since Vietnam's first IVF birth in 1998, more than 150,000 babies have been born through the procedure, plus over 400 through altruistic surrogacy. Today, over 50 fertility centers nationwide offer world-class technology, with IVF success rates reaching 70%, according to the Ministry of Health.