IVF Success rates
Purpose of the IVF Success website
The purpose of the YourIVFSuccess website is to help you understand your individual chances of success with IVF treatment.
Whilst the new website talks about success rates of IVF, it does not give a deep insight into the overall chances of falling pregnant across other types of fertility treatments, it doesn’t outline important factors that influence the success of an IVF treatment.
"Not every couple struggling to conceive will require IVF and it is important to explore other less invasive options first. At Fertility Specialists of WA, for example, we aim to avoid IVF, unless it is essential. In fact, I believe more than half of our patients conceive without the use of IVF treatment."
Measures to define success.
Measure 1
Births per complete egg retrieval.Measure 2
Births per complete egg retrieval cycle for women having their first-ever egg retrieval procedure.Measure 3
Births per individual treatment attempt.Measure 4
Births per embryo that is transferred."Consequently though, some clinics might be tempted to push for more IVF cycles, so it goes without saying that this influences the clinical outcomes and statistics."
Births per complete egg retrieval procedure.
"We will very carefully manage our patients to produce the maximum number of eggs possible in one cycle without putting the patient at risk of OHSS. Generally, we will collect at least 1 more egg than the national average. This is to give patients a good cumulative pregnancy rate (and potentially a subsequent sibling)."
Things to consider:
Egg retrieval cycles where no eggs are retrieved, no embryos created or no embryos are available for freezing or transfer, are included in this figure.
Egg retrievals where all resulting eggs or embryos are frozen (i.e., freeze-all cycles) are not included in this figure unless they are followed by a thaw cycle involving eggs or embryos in that same measurement period of one year.
"Not all patients will have an egg collection with the intention of having an embryo transfer in the same cycle, hence a ‘freeze all’ cycle is chosen. Reasons for such cycles may be because the couple is going to embark on genetic testing of their embryos, or there is a concern about the thickness of the lining of the womb or the woman’s hormone levels are just not suitable for a fresh embryo transfer. Again, it is important patients understand this when they look at the data, as this will lead to an artifactual reduction in the chance of getting pregnant in that individual IVF treatment cycle."
The figure only includes cycles where a woman intended to or used her own eggs.
The data used is a collective of every IVF patient regardless of the underlying fertility issue
"For example, a fertility clinic that deals with complex fertility cases and welcomes people who have been unsuccessful before, may lead to an artifactual reduction in their success rates, as a young, fit and healthy patient who has never had a failed IVF experience, will have a better success rate."
Conceptions that occur from any other fertility treatment other than IVF, are not included.
"We aim to avoid IVF, unless it is essential. In fact, I believe more than half of our patients conceive without the use of IVF treatment."
Egg retrievals involving donor sperm are included.
Births per complete egg retrieval cycle for women having their first-ever egg retrieval procedure.
This measure shows the chance of a live birth from fresh and frozen embryo transfers resulting from a complete egg retrieval cycle for women having first-ever IVF treatment in Australia.
In other words, what are my chances of a live birth from any embryo that is generated from my first ever IVF cycle?
"It’s an important distinction because a woman having her first IVF cycle is very different to a woman who has had several IVF cycles before. In the latter case, your chances to conceive in a subsequent cycle - unfortunately - are lower."
Things to consider:
This measure does not include women who have previously had IVF cycles at any clinic.
Egg retrieval cycles where no eggs are retrieved, no embryos created or no embryos are available for freezing or transfer, are included in this figure.
Egg retrievals where all resulting eggs or embryos are frozen (i.e., freeze-all cycles) are not included in this figure unless they are followed by a thaw cycle involving eggs or embryos in that same measurement period of one year.
"Not all patients will have an egg collection with the intention of having an embryo transfer in the same cycle, hence a ‘freeze all’ cycle is chosen. Reasons for such cycles may be because the couple is going to embark on genetic testing of their embryos, or there is a concern about the thickness of the lining of the womb or the woman’s hormone levels are just not be suitable for a fresh embryo transfer. Again, it is important patients understand this when they look at the data as this will lead to an artifactual reduction in the chance of getting pregnant in that individual IVF treatment cycle."
The figure only includes cycles where a woman intended to or used her own eggs.
The data used is a collective of every IVF patient regardless of the underlying fertility issue
"For example, a fertility clinic that deals with complex fertility cases and welcomes people who have been unsuccessful before, may lead to an artifactual reduction in their success rates, as a young, fit and healthy patient who has never had a failed IVF experience, will have a better success rate."
Conceptions that occur from any other fertility treatment other than IVF, are not included.
"We aim to avoid IVF, unless it is essential. In fact, I believe more than half of our patients conceive without the use of IVF treatment."
Egg retrievals involving donor sperm are included.
Births per individual treatment attempt.
This measure shows the chance of a live birth from each individual treatment attempt involving an intended embryo transfer that was started in one year at this clinic.
Sometimes no embryo transfer procedure takes place because the IVF treatment is cancelled before egg retrieval or suitable embryos are not available. Any cycles where the treatment is cancelled or all eggs or embryos were frozen for later use, are not considered individual treatment attempts.
"Again, when you interpret this data, be aware that this figure excludes all the women who were having a planned 'freeze-all cycle'. That is about 1 in 3 of our patients."
Things to consider:
Egg retrieval cycles where no eggs are retrieved, no embryos created or no embryos are available for freezing or transfer, are included in this figure.
Egg retrievals where all resulting eggs or embryos are frozen (i.e., freeze-all cycles) are not included in this figure unless they are followed by a thaw cycle involving eggs or embryos in that same measurement period of one year.
"Hence, if a third of our patients will not be proceeding to an embryo transfer from the same cycle, this will lead to an artifactual reduction in the chance of getting pregnant in this IVF treatment cycle. It is important that you understand this when you look at the data."
The figure only includes cycles where a woman intended to or used her own eggs.
The data used is a collective of every IVF patient regardless of the underlying fertility issue
"For example, a fertility clinic that deals with complex fertility cases and welcome people who have been unsuccessful before, may lead to an artifactual reduction in their success rates, as a young, fit and healthy patient who has never had a failed IVF experience, will have a better success rate."
Conceptions that occur from any other fertility treatment other than IVF, are not included.
"We aim to avoid IVF, unless it is essential. In fact, I believe more than half of our patients conceive without the use of IVF treatment."
Initiated thaw cycles where an embryo was thawed but did not proceed to an embryo transfer are included.
Artificial insemination cycles are not included.
Cycles involving donor sperm are included.
Births per embryo that is transferred.
This measure shows the chance of a live birth from each individual fresh or frozen embryo that was transferred in one year at this clinic.
This figure is useful for patients who want to know what their chances are from 1 embryo transfer.
"Again, when you interpret this data, be aware that this figure excludes all the women who were having a planned 'freeze-all cycle'. That is about 1 in 3 of our patients."
Things to consider:
Includes autologous cycles only (the embryos being transferred originated from the women having the embryo transfer)
Artificial insemination cycles are not included.
Embryos transferred involving donor sperm are included.
Embryos transferred that were created in a different clinic are included.
Embryo transfers that have undergone laboratory procedures (e.g. PGT) are included.
Conclusion
Success rates, such as these, when considered in the context of individual patient circumstances (male or female), are a useful statistic.
And because here at Fertility Specialists of Western Australia we always have the patient’s unique situation and interest in mind, we will always explore all options with you before recommending an IVF cycle.
We also pride ourselves to see those patients with a poor fertility prognosis and or who have had numerous failed attempts with other clinics. We do not believe it is appropriate to differentiate patients on the basis of perceived 'difficulty'.
Two of our specialists, Professor Roger Hart and Dr Tamara Hunter have undertaken additional rigorous training to obtain CREI accreditation (Certified Sub-Specialists in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility), of which there are only 3 in WA. This training leads to a greater understanding of the mechanisms and treatments involved in the management of couples with sub-fertility.
Ultimately, our focus is on providing you with a holistic, supportive, and compassionate fertility journey, ensuring
Additional resource - IVF success rates to be published, but experts are skeptical - ABC News