Assisted reproductive technology in the United States: 1998 results generated from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine/Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Registry.

OBJECTIVE

To summarize the procedures and outcomes of ART initiated in the United States in 1998.

DESIGN

Data were collected electronically by using the SART Clinical Outcome Reporting System software and submitted to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine/Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Registry.

PARTICIPANT(S): Three hundred and sixty programs submitted data on procedures performed in 1998. Data were collated after November 1999 so that the outcome of all pregnancies established would be known.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Incidence of clinical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, abortion, stillbirth, and delivery.

RESULTS

Programs reported initiating 81,899 cycles of ART treatment. Of these, 58,937 cycles involved IVF (with and without micromanipulation), with a delivery rate per retrieval of 29.1%; 1,293 were cycles of gamete intrafallopian transfer, with a delivery rate per retrieval of 27.4%; 1,054 were cycles of zygote intrafallopian transfer with a delivery rate per retrieval of 29.6%. The following additional ART procedures were also initiated: 5,273 fresh donor oocyte cycles, with a delivery rate per transfer of 41.2%; 11,228 frozen embryo transfer procedures, with a delivery rate per transfer of 19.3%; 1,913 frozen embryo transfers using donated oocytes or embryos, with a delivery rate per transfer of 23.5%, and 809 cycles using a host uterus, with a delivery rate per transfer of 31.6%. In addition, 969 cycles were reported as combinations or more than one treatment type, 25 cycles as research, and 398 as embryo banking. As a result of all procedures, 20,241 deliveries were reported, resulting in 29,128 neonates.

CONCLUSIONS

In 1998, there were more programs reporting ART treatment and a significant (12.1%) increase in reported cycles compared with 1997. In comparable cycle types, the actual increase in overall success rate (deliveries per retrieval) was 1.4%, which represents an increase of 4.7% compared with the success rate in 1997.