What influences the success rate of in vitro fertilization?
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a very accessible medical procedure that gives individuals and couples who are unable to conceive a baby on their own the ability to have their own child biologically or through intention by using donor eggs. Since 1981, at least a million children have been born in the United States thanks to assisted reproductive technologies.
While many women can become pregnant via IVF, the process is not guaranteed to be successful. In some cases, IVF can fail to produce a viable pregnancy even after many attempts. This reality, paired with the high cost of each attempt, leaves many people desperate for exact success rates before starting their surrogacy journeys.
Age is the single largest variable in IVF success
According to an April 2015 article published by NPR, 40% of IVF cycles performed in women under the age of 35 were successful, whereas a 4.5% success rate was observed in women ages 42 and above.
In the case of surrogacy, these rates can improve because the surrogate candidate is being screened and admitted for her physical ability to carry a healthy pregnancy. In many cases of women doing IVF and attempting to carry the pregnancy themselves, they may have other health factors that provide risks to the pregnancy and to the mother herself. A surrogate would not have these risk factors. When donor eggs are introduced to the equation, the success rates increase dramatically. At Growing Generations, we require that our egg donors be 30 years of age or younger. When our clients use a surrogate and egg donor, we see success rates as high as 85% on the first pregnancy attempt, with nearly 100% of clients pregnant within three attempts.
Other factors
In addition to age, other factors that play a part in the success of IVF include the amount of time the intended mother has spent trying to conceive, previous pregnancy/infertility histories and what drugs are used in the medical protocol.
Success predictors
There are currently two success rate predictors available to use online. The Templeton predictor and its competitor, IVFPredict, are two popular options. The IVFPredict incorporates newer technology including embryos created with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). However, even with the improved reliability of IVFPredict, online predictors have been found to be accurate only about half of the time.
IVF success, in large part, has to do with the individual’s health, fitness and personal fertility. However, when working with a surrogate, many of the obstacles that prevent people from having a child on their own are removed.
The embryo transfer is just one of many steps of Growing Generations’ surrogacy program. Check out our six steps to becoming a parent through surrogacy.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/04/08/398117919/whats-my-chance-of-having-a-baby-a-better-predictor-of-ivf-success
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/million-babies-have-been-born-u-s-fertility-help-n752506