LONDON - Britons will be able to freeze their eggs, sperm and embryos for up to 55 years in a reform of fertility rules intended to help prospective parents.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the current limit of ten years was “severely restrictive”.

Research from the Royal College of Obstetricians found that modern freezing techniques mean eggs can be stored indefinitely without deterioration.

Prospective parents are to be given the right to keep frozen eggs, sperm and embryos in storage for as long as 55 years while they decide when is best to start a family.

Health secretary Sajid Javid announced that the government plans to scrap the current rule which requires destruction of unused material after 10 years.

He said the change would remove the pressure of the “ticking clock” on would-be mothers and fathers who have opted to freeze eggs and sperm but may not be ready to make use of them.

Under the new system, prospective parents will be given the option on keeping or disposing at 10-year intervals.

Mr Javid said the reform proposals, which follow a consultation earlier this year, reflect new “vitrification” freezing methods which allow human eggs to be stored indefinitely without deterioration, as well as the increasing success of using frozen embryos in routine IVF treatment.

Additional conditions will be drawn up separately in relation to the use of third-party donors and the posthumous use of material from individuals who have since died.

The health secretary said the new arrangements will not only offer greater reproductive choice and less pressured decision-making for parents, but also ensure greater equality as the same rules will apply to everyone and storage limits will not be dictated by medical need.