Success is defined as the live birth rate of a single delivery after a fresh or frozen embryo transfer after 37 weeks of gestation, within a year of a cycle initiated for egg retrieval with a patient’s own eggs or donor eggs.

SART is the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the primary organization for professionals dedicated to the practice of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in the United States. The organization represents the majority of the ART clinics in the country, more than 90% of ART clinics. They report IVF birth outcomes from member clinics. Ohio Reproductive Medicine is a member of SART.

Success rates have been commonly discontinued after 3-4 unsuccessful embryo transfers, based on 20-year-old data. However, single embryo transfers and the improved effectiveness of freezing embryos have significantly improved in the past 10-15 years. Success rates are now calculated as the live birth rate per initiated ovarian stimulation and include all subsequent separate fresh and frozen embryo transfers.

Importantly, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that for women in the UK, undergoing IVF, the cumulative live birth rate after six cycles was 65.3%, though it varies based on the woman’s age and diagnosis. Thus current data support the efficacy of extending the number of IVF cycles beyond 3 or 4.