IVF Success Rates

IVF with its improved success rates has brought hope to thousands of couples. For many people, the dream of having children is not easily attained. Up to 15% of couples in the United States receive infertility treatment and some will require IVF. Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), including IVF, have been used in the United States since 1981 to help couples achieve pregnancy.

IVF success rates are reported to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) which
is an organization of ART / IVF providers affiliated with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). SART has been collecting ART data and publishing reports for fertility clinics in the United States since 1989.

IVF success rates were co-authored by SART, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and RESOLVE, a national consumer organization for infertile couples for the first time in 1995. The data for this national report came from 281 fertility clinics that provided information about the outcomes of all IVF cycles started in their clinics in 1995.

IVF success rates are influenced by many factors specific to each couple and include the causes of infertility, female age, previous treatments, and other variables. The national report presents clinic specific IVF success rates, as well as overall pooled data from all the clinics reporting. These pooled national data are useful because they give potential ART patients an idea of their average chances of IVF success. Average chances, however, do not necessarily apply to a particular individual or couple. Couples considering ART should take into consideration all the factors that apply in their particular case as well as looking at a particular clinic's success rates.

A variety of factors, outside a clinic's control, can affect a couple's chances of obtaining a pregnancy and a live birth by using ART. The most significant of these factors are a woman's age, and sperm abnormalities. Additional factors such as immunologic infertility, smoking (lifestyle issues), the cause of infertility, and the number of children that the woman may already have can also significantly impact the success rates.

For this reason, some clinics refuse to accept certain complex cases, or patients over a certain age, that will likely produce poor success rates. At HRC, we evaluate the various patient-specific factors that can affect IVF success rates and advise couples on their likely chance for conception. We seldom exclude patients from our program based on their prognosis, but work with couples in partnership to help them make the best decision. IVF success rates can be reported in a variety of ways and statistics are not always simple to interpret. As a result, it may be difficult to directly compare one clinic's success rates to another.

Donor egg IVF is an option for many infertile women who have reduced ovarian reserve due to age or other factors. Female fertility naturally declines with age culminating in the menopause and some women experience premature menopause. Women who use a donors eggs usually have the same success rates as the donor's age group. For example, if the eggs from a twenty year old female are used for an IVF cycle in a forty two year old female, the success rates for the cycle compare to the twenty year old age group even though the recipient is in her forties. This assumes their is no male factor infertility and that the recipient is in good general health with a functional uterus.

The severity of certain cases may affect overall clinic outcomes and statistics. However, to a certain degree, IVF success rates are related to the expertise of a clinic's staff and the quality of its laboratory. HRC is gratified to report that as a result of its treatments, several thousand babies have been born to happy parents across the United States and around the world. Please review our ART statistics below.

HRC IVF SUCCESS RATES
REPORTING YEAR: JANUARY 1 - DECEMBER 31, 2005

IVF SUCCESS RATES USING DONOR EGGS

Note: IVF success rates comparisons between clinics may not be meaningful because patient medical characteristics and treatment approaches vary from clinic to clinic.

Additional ART Links

• IVF
• Donor Egg
• ICSI
• Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
• PGD and Gender Selection