A single woman in China has gone to court challenging rules that forbid unmarried women from freezing their eggs in the first case of its kind in the country.

Teresa Xu said she was prompted to take legal action after a top hospital in Beijing declined to freeze her eggs last year, and instead told her to “get married, and have a child soon”.

“There is a huge demand among young women in China whether married or single to freeze their eggs as they delay the decision to have a child,”

“But clinics refuse single women, because of unfair laws.”

Chinese regulations forbid unmarried women from freezing their eggs unless they have a health reason, such as cancer.