Amended policy yields increase in demand for services

With the adoption of the universal second-child policy, the number of couples seeking assisted reproductive technologies is rising rapidly in China.

"Last year, we completed about 60 artificial insemination procedures in the hospital, but the number was more than 100 in the first half of this year," said Zhang Jun, head of operations at Beijing Bao Dao Healthcare, a high-end maternity hospital in Beijing.

Having obtained the permission of the health authorities in Beijing, the hospital began offering in vitro fertilization services at the start of the year to meet the rising demand from couples who find it difficult to conceive naturally.