Infertility Treatment Success

Infertility treatment covers a wide scope of medications and procedures. Treatment success rates vary based on many factors including the reason for the treatment, the patient's age and even the clinic at which the procedure is performed. All statistics in this article cover the national average success rate.

In Vitro Fertilization

• In vitro fertilization is the process of removing eggs from the female and fertilizing them with the sperm of the male. IVF is costly as well as risky. These success rates are based on a fresh embryo transfer.

  The first number is the percentage of cycles that resulted in a verifiable pregnancy. The second number is the percentage of cycles resulting in a live birth.

  Under 35 years old: 45.8 percent pregnancy, 39.9 percent live birth
  35-37 years old: 37.2 percent pregnancy, 30.5 percent live birth
  38-40 years old: 28.2 percent pregnancy, 21 percent live birth
  41-42 years old: 18.5 percent pregnancy, 11.7 percent live birth
  43-44 years old: 8.9 percent pregnancy, 4.6 percent live birth

Frozen Embryo Transfer

• After an IVF cycle, there sometimes will be embryos left over that were not transferred to the patient's uterus. These can be frozen and transferred later through a process called frozen embryo transfer, or FET.

  Here, the only data is that for live births.

  Under 35 years old: 34 percent
  35-37 years old: 30.4 percent
  38-40 years old: 25 percent
  41-42 years old: 20.7 percent
  43-44 years old: 14.6 percent

  Note that the data shows a better success rate for FET than for IVF in patients with advanced age. Some theorize that this is due to the health of the embryos. Only the healthiest embryos are frozen and only the healthiest of those survive the thaw and are transferred.

Donor Eggs (Oocytes)

• Donor eggs are used when the patient's own eggs are, for whatever reason, not deemed healthy enough for IVF. Success rates here are live birth rates for all ages.

  Fresh donor IVF cycle: 55.2 percent

  Donor FET cycle: 31.7 percent

  Success rates may be higher for donor cycles because of the rigorous screening process for egg donors. Only those of the best physical and mental health are chosen for egg donation. This results in healthier eggs and a better success rate for treatment procedures.

Clomid

• Clomid (clomiphene citrate) is used in patients who are not ovulating. Clomid helps the female body release the egg that is necessary for conception. Since roughly 25 percent of female factor infertility involves a problem with ovulation, Clomid is used quite frequently to help couples conceive.

  About 80 percent of women ovulate on their first Clomid cycle. The odds of conceiving during that cycle are about 30 percent. While the success rate doesn't sound overwhelming, keep in mind that Clomid is taken orally, is available in generic form and only has to be taken five days a month. This comes together to give the patient a very affordable infertility treatment option.

Intrauterine Insemination

• Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is known by most as artificial insemination. IUI involves a doctor using a long, thin tube called a pipette to deposit sperm directly into the uterus. While some IUI cycles are unmedicated, it is also sometimes accompanied by Clomid or even injectible fertility medications. IUI requires the timing to be perfect, so patients are closely monitored by their doctor throughout the entire cycle.

  IUI success rates are not federally monitored as IVF and FET are. Overall success rates for IUI are about 15 percent to 20 percent in any given cycle. In unmedicated cycles where only one egg is released, that number may be as low as 5 percent. In a medicated cycle, producing multiple follicles (sometimes as many as 20 to 30 depending on the drugs used), the success rate is as high as 26 percent.