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.