Assisted reproductive technology in the United States: 1997 results generated from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine/Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Registry.

OBJECTIVE

To summarize the procedures and outcomes of assisted reproductive technology (ART) initiated in the United States in 1997.

DESIGN

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

PARTICIPANT(S): 335 programs submitted data on procedures performed in 1997. Data were collated after November 1998 so that the outcome of all pregnancies established would be known.

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

RESULT(S): Programs reported initiating 73,069 cycles of ART treatment. Of these, 51,344 cycles involved IVF (with and without micromanipulation), with a delivery rate per retrieval of 27.9%; 1,943 were cycles of GIFT, with a delivery rate per retrieval of 30.0%; and 1,104 were cycles of zygote intrafallopian transfer, with a delivery rate per retrieval of 28.0%. The following additional ART procedures were also initiated: 4,616 donor oocyte cycles, with a delivery rate per transfer of 40.0%; 10,181 frozen embryo transfer procedures, with a delivery rate per transfer of 18.8%; 1,584 frozen embryo transfers using donated oocytes, with a delivery rate per transfer of 22.2%; and 600 cycles using a host uterus, with a delivery rate per transfer of 34.6%. Furthermore, 1,173 cycles were reported as combinations or more than one treatment type, 40 cycles as research, 258 as embryo banking, and 226 as other (unclassified) cycle types. As a result of all procedures, 17,311 deliveries resulting in 25,059 babies were reported.

CONCLUSION(S): In 1997, more programs reported ART treatment and the number of reported cycles increased significantly (10.9%) compared with 1996. In comparable cycle types, the overall success rate (deliveries per retrieval) increased by 1.8%, which represents an increase of 6.9% compared with the success rate for 1996.