International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART) world report: assisted reproductive technology 2003.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze information on assisted reproductive technologies (ART) performed globally.

DESIGN

Data on access, efficacy, and safety of ART were collected for the year 2003 from 54 countries.

SETTING

National and regional ART registries globally.

PATIENT(S): Patients undergoing ART globally.

INTERVENTION(S): Collection and analysis of international ART registry data.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Number of cycles performed in reporting countries and regions globally for different ART procedures with resulting pregnancy, live birth and multiple birth rates.

RESULT(S): A total of 433,427 initiated cycles reported in this registry resulted in 173,424 babies born. This corresponded to a delivery rate per aspiration of 22.4% for in vitro fertilization (IVF), 23.3% for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and a delivery rate per transfer of 17.1% for frozen embryo transfer. Although there is wide variation among countries and regions, the overall proportion of deliveries with twins and triplets from IVF and ICSI was 24.8% and 2.0%, respectively. There were wide variations in access, and compared with the previous report (year 2002), there was a 3.9% increase in the number of reported cycles and a minor increase in the delivery rate per aspiration. There was also a marginal decline in the mean number of embryos transferred and in the rate of multiple births.

CONCLUSION(S): ART access, efficacy, and safety varies greatly globally. Collection and analysis of data over time will benefit ART patients, providers, and policy makers.