ShareKUWAIT: More women in Kuwait are resorting to freeze their eggs to preserve their productive potentials. This came as a result of the growing global trend of women delaying their marriages and childbearing for the sake of prioritizing their higher educational or career goals, stated Dr Hazem Al-Rumaih, Consultant in Obgyn and reproductive medicine and Head of Reproductive Medicine unit at New Jahra Hospital in Kuwait. “Every day, I see one or two cases from all walks of life seeking this procedure,” he said.
While this procedure is permissible under Islamic Sharia, there are still some religious restrictions on it, said Dr Khaled Al-Mathkour, Sharia Scholar and member of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences in Kuwait. One of these restrictions is that unmarried women should not undergo the procedure due to the lack of necessity behind it.
Egg freezing is simply a process that allows women to store their eggs when they are young and healthy, thereby potentially extending their reproductive lifespan. The frozen eggs can later be thawed, fertilized with sperm through in vitro fertilization (IVF), and implanted into the woman’s uterus to achieve pregnancy.
Rumaih explained that the rising demand for this procedure aligns with the growing awareness that fertility decreases with age, particularly after the age of 35, as well as with the growing trust in the proven efficiency of assistive reproductive techniques that produce almost the same quality of fresh eggs. In Kuwait, he noted that the government sector covers the cost of this procedure only for married women who are cancer patients, as their fertility is affected by chemotherapy radiation.
However, in the private sector, it is available for all kind of women at a cost ranging from KD 2,000 to KD 2,500, and the eggs can be stored for five to ten years. Even though this procedure can be performed on women up to the age of 50 before reaching menopause, Rumaih recommended that it’s best for married women between the ages of 35 and 40.
From the religious perspective, Dr Khaled Al-Mathkour outlined the specific conditions required under Islamic Sharia for egg freezing to be permissible. Firstly, he highlighted the necessity of a purpose behind the operation, whether for in vitro fertilization (IVF) or Artificial insemination. Additionally, the frozen eggs must belong to a married woman whose marriage is ongoing and has not ended with a definitive divorce or the death of one spouse.
Mathkour stressed the importance of labeling the eggs with the names of both the wife and her husband and ensuring that they are not subjected to medical experiments or analysis. Once the intended purpose for freezing the eggs has been fulfilled according to these conditions, they must be disposed off appropriately, and it is strictly prohibited to sell, rent, or neglect them.
