Fertility Experts Warn Some IVF Success Rates May Be Misleading

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 03 Apr 2009 - 8:00 PDT

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Beyond just the ethics of implanting excessive embryos during in-vitro fertilization (IVF), an investigation into the track record and success rates of the fertility doctor responsible for the recent birth of octuplets, sheds light on a controversial issue in the fertility community - claims on pregnancy and IVF success rates and what is actually behind the reported numbers.

Reports indicate that success rates at the clinic responsible for the octuplets were significantly below the national average, and that they were unable to treat patients over the age of 35. In order to increase conception odds, the doctor allegedly implanted six embryos, more than twice the recommended amount. Other fertility clinics are known to report above average success rates, yet place specific guidelines on the difficulty and type of patients they will accept. As a result, experts urge patients not to focus on numbers alone, as some statistics may be misleading.

Dr. John Rapisarda with Fertility Centers of Illinois - one of the nation's leading infertility treatment centers - explains that physicians and clinics have different criteria that limit entry into their IVF programs; and that the more restrictive criteria leads to higher pregnancy rates, because only individuals with the best prognosis are eligible for treatment. "This may then limit access to services for some couples who are less likely to get pregnant, making it difficult to directly compare statistics between programs," he adds.

While maintaining high success rates that are recognized throughout the nation, Fertility Centers of Illinois has earned a reputation for successfully treating challenging patients and overcoming hard-to-solve fertility issues. As a result, FCI encourages all patients to explore the following factors when selecting a physician and fertility treatment center:

1. High Order Multiples: Like the octuplets case, if a clinic reports an elevated number of high- order multiple births, it may suggest that the program is transferring more embryos in order to maintain a competitive success rate.

2. Success of Cryo-embryo Transfers: A high rate of success reflects an excellent embryology lab that can culture and store embryos and improve the overall cycle efficiency from a single retrieval. Ideally, success rates should be no more than 10-15% lower than fresh transfer rates.

3. Egg Donor Success Rates: Avoid a program with low egg donor success rates. This is a great equalizer as it is the most controlled group going through IVF. When trying to evaluate a program, it eliminates other variables such as different selection and cancellation criteria.

4. Size of Practice: A smaller practice often cannot offer all of the cutting edge services or perform them as well as a larger practice, where the physicians and embryologists continually face a larger variety of the most challenging cases that enable them to gain added expertise and maintain their skills.

5. Services Offered: For the absolute best chance at conception, ensure that the program offers all of the latest techniques, such as PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis) and Third Party Reproduction.

Fertility Centers of Illinois

Fertility Centers of Illinois S.C. is one of the nation's leading infertility treatment practices, providing advanced reproductive endocrinology services in the Chicago area for more than 30 years. With a team of nationally recognized reproductive physicians, and half of all patients seeking treatment elsewhere before finding success at FCI, the practice has earned a reputation for overcoming hard-to-solve fertility issues. Due to the large number of patients seen and high success rates recognized throughout the nation, all FCI physicians, embryologists and support staff are stringently chosen based on educational background, medical skills and their ability to collaborate. All patients have their fertility issues reviewed by a team of medical experts, who collectively offer them the absolute best chance for success. FCI also serves as a resource for the public and media, with physicians making regular appearances on local and national media outlets to discuss fertility issues. FCI is part of IntegraMed, the nation's largest and most reputable network of fertility centers and FCI has multiple offices conveniently located throughout the Chicago area. For more information visit http://www.fcionline.com

Source
Fertility Centers of Illinois