How to Access and Interpret Fertility Clinic Success Rates

Because ART success depends on whether patients are using their own eggs or donor eggs, the navigation tab for Success Rates presents information separately for these two groups. You can use the drop-down menu to select a success rate of interest. You can also view success rates for patients with a specific diagnosis by using the filter function on the left. You can select the Show National Data box to view national data for the selected success rate of interest.

An ART cycle starts when a woman begins taking fertility drugs or having her ovaries monitored for follicle production with the intent to retrieve eggs (intended retrieval). If eggs are produced, the cycle progresses to egg retrieval, in which at least one egg is retrieved (actual retrieval). Retrieved eggs are either combined with sperm to create embryos or frozen for future use (egg cryopreservation).

If fertilization is successful, at least one embryo may be selected for transfer. The embryos may be transferred to the patient or to a gestational carrier (embryo transfer). Other embryos can be frozen for future use (embryo cryopreservation). If embryo transfer results in implantation, the cycle may progress to clinical pregnancy and, possibly, a live-birth delivery.

Many people considering ART will want to use the information presented on the ART Success Rates website to find the “best” clinic. However, comparisons between clinics must be made with caution. Many factors contribute to the success of an ART procedure. Some factors are related to the training and experience of the fertility clinic and laboratory professionals and the quality of services they provide. Other factors are related to the patients themselves, such as their age, the quality of their eggs and sperm, the cause of their infertility, and genetic factors. Some clinics may be more willing than others to accept patients with low chances of success or may specialize in ART treatments that attract particular types of patients.

We encourage consumers considering ART to contact clinics to discuss their specific medical situations and their potential for success using ART. Because clinics did not have the opportunity to provide narratives to explain their data, such conversations could provide additional information to help consumers decide whether to use ART.

Although ART offers important options for the treatment of infertility, the decision to use ART involves many factors in addition to success rates. Therefore, consumers should carefully examine all related financial, psychological, and medical issues before beginning treatment. They may also want to consider the location of the clinic, the counseling and support services available, and the rapport that staff members have with their patients.

Other important factors to consider when using success rates to assess a clinic include the following:

ART statistics are from cycles performed more than 1 year ago.

Before success rates can be calculated, the following must occur: (1) ART treatments need to be completed; (2) completed cycles need to be followed up to determine whether a birth occurred; (3) data need to be collected, reported, cleaned, and analyzed; and (4) the ART reports need to be prepared for publication.

Noncumulative yearly success rates for patients using donor eggs or embryos are calculated using only information on transfers performed in 2021. Cumulative success rates for patients using their own eggs are calculated using egg retrievals performed in 2020 and all transfers of embryos that occurred within 1 year after an egg retrieval. Thus, the calculation of cumulative success rates for patients using their own eggs includes ART cycles performed in 2020 and 2021. For clinics that did not report data during the previous reporting year, cumulative success rates for patients using their own eggs cannot be calculated, and only noncumulative success rates are published.

Many factors that contribute to a clinic’s success rates can change after the cycles included in the data presented here were performed. Personnel may be different, and equipment and training may or may not have been updated. As a result, the success rates may not necessarily represent current practice.

Success rates may vary.

A clinic’s success rates may vary from year to year, even if all determining factors remain the same. The more cycles that a clinic carries out, the less the rate is likely to vary. Clinics that perform fewer cycles are likely to have more variability in success rates from year to year. As an extreme example, if a clinic reports only one ART cycle in a given category, as is sometimes the case in the data presented here, the clinic’s success rate in that category would be either 0% or 100%.

Some clinics treat more than the average number of patients with difficult infertility problems.

Some clinics offer ART to most potential patients, even those who have a low probability of success. Others discourage such patients or encourage them to use donor eggs, a practice that results in higher success rates among older patients. Clinics that accept a higher percentage of patients who previously have had multiple unsuccessful ART cycles will generally have lower success rates. In contrast, clinics that offer ART procedures to patients who might have become pregnant with less technologically advanced treatment will generally have higher success rates. CDC does not collect information on clinic-specific patient selection practices.

The number of embryos transferred varies from clinic to clinic.

ASRM and SART discourage the transfer of a large number of embryos because of the increased likelihood of multiple-fetus pregnancies. Multiple-fetus pregnancies, in turn, increase the probability of premature births and related health problems.

The Success Rates: Patients Using Own Eggs navigation tab on the individual clinic web pages provides data on success rates for patients who used their own eggs. Because ART success depends on whether patients are using ART for the first time or had prior ART cycles, a drop-down menu allows users to examine success rates for all “Patients using their own eggs” or for “Patients with no prior ART using their own eggs.” “Patients using their own eggs” includes both patients with prior ART and those with no prior ART.

Success rates for patients using their own eggs are shown per intended retrieval, per actual retrieval, and per transfer. The average number of transfers per intended retrieval and the average number of intended retrievals per live-birth delivery are also shown. The success rates presented on this page are cumulative success rates and include embryo transfers that occur within 1 year after an egg retrieval.

Calculation of cumulative success rates requires data from two reporting years for patients using their own eggs. For clinics that did not report data during the previous reporting year, cumulative success rates for patients using their own eggs cannot be calculated, and only noncumulative success rates are published.

This page excludes cycles that were considered research—that is, cycles performed to evaluate new procedures. No research cycles were performed in 2021. Success rates can be filtered by diagnosis and by age of patient.