A woman in China is suing a hospital after doctors allegedly refused to freeze her eggs because she is unmarried.

Teresa Xu visited Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital last year with the aim of freezing her eggs while she focused on her career.

The 31-year-old freelance editor said hospital staff urged her to have a child instead of freezing her eggs.

She said on a second visit she was told she could not proceed with treatment.

The hospital declined to comment on the case when approached by the Reuters news agency.

The case has been widely discussed on Chinese social media, where many have voiced support for Ms Xu.

“I came here for a professional service, but instead I got someone who was urging me to put aside my work and have a child first,” Ms Xu told Reuters. “I have already received a lot of this pressure in this society, this culture.”

A woman’s eggs deteriorate in quality as she ages, making it more difficult for older women to have a child. There is a high demand for egg freezing in China, while women who can afford to tend to travel overseas for the treatment.

In 2013, popular Chinese actress Xu Jinglei announced that she had frozen nine of her eggs. She travelled to the US at the age of 39 for the treatment.

Ms Xu said she had considered going abroad but it was too expensive. She said she was quoted prices of 100,000 yuan (£11,016) for the treatment in Thailand and 200,000 yuan (£22,032) in the US.

Many users of China’s social media site Weibo voiced their support for Ms Xu using the hashtag that translates to “China’s first unmarried frozen egg case”.

One person wrote: “Fertility should not be the sole value of women. Apart from being a mother, you are first and foremost an independent person.”

Another said: “If Chinese law changes, make sperm banks open to unmarried women! The population problem can be solved a little bit. There are still many people who don’t want to get married and want to have a baby.”

Other Weibo users asked why the woman was suing the hospital. “I don’t think there is any problem in the hospital’s affairs and work. The parties should not sue the hospital but the State Family Planning Association,” one person said.

The case is expected to go on for several months.

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