Dubai: Women in the UAE can now wait to marry Mr Right instead of settling for Mr Right Now, without compromising their fertility.

The Dubai Gynaecology and Fertility Centre (DGFC), under the Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services, recently added freezing eggs to their list of services. The service is believed to be the first offered in the region according to the DGFC.

Dr Husnia Gargash, DGFC's Director, told Gulf News the service was conceived to help young women who have had to delay pregnancy.

"We need to provide the service because there are situations where women need to freeze their eggs such as women who need to go for chemotherapy or treatment that may cause infertility, " she said.
 

"They are freezing the eggs for future use," she added.
Another reason for the service was the changing social dynamics. Women are becoming more career-oriented which may prevent them from getting married and starting a family now, she said.

Conceiving without any medical intervention is harder the older a woman gets. Having children at an older age also increases the risk of producing babies with genetic problems, including Down's syndrome.

The DGFC received the approval to provide the service in mid-January after an ethics committee, which included fertility, legal and religious experts, studied the proposal.

The cost to freeze eggs at the centre is more than Dh21,000. Eggs can only be kept for five years, the same length of time as frozen embryos, to ensure quality.

Single women who freeze their eggs at the DGFC may only use their eggs once they are married and ready to conceive.