The Chinese government ended its long-standing one-child policy in 2015, fearing the economic impact of a rapidly aging population. The number of babies born each year, however, has continued to fall for a number of reasons, including couples marrying later, women choosing to put off pregnancy to pursue their careers, and the rising cost of education and living. Of those seeking to have a child, moreover, 25% turned out to be infertile, according to a 2017 study published in BJOC, a London-based obstetrics and gynecology journal.
According to some industry estimates, Chinese couples spend around $8 billion each year on in vitro fertilization, a process in which eggs are fertilized outside of the body.
It is estimated that as the government and individual families seek to arrest the falling birthrate, the number of IVF procedures carried out in China will double to 2 million within five or 10 years. Given that each round of IFV treatment, or cycle, costs about 50,000 yuan, or $7,500, that would make the market worth $15 billion.