A fertility clinic deals with the big-picture issues related to your fertility journey, so it’s important that you find one that’s right for you and your surrogate. Like all big decisions, it’s best to look at different options and ask a lot of questions before you make your selection. When comparing fertility clinics, a good place to start looking is the CDC’s Assisted Reproductive Technology, or ART, reports. Since 1992, fertility clinics have been mandated to report their success rates to the CDC to ensure that patients can educate themselves about the quality of care available to them.
The CDC publishes yearly pregnancy success rates for clinics, although due to the nature of their work—it takes time for the procedures, it takes time for pregnancies to develop, and it takes time to collect and publish results—the data is always two years behind. The success rates are divided into three types of cycles: using nondonor fresh eggs, using nondonor frozen eggs, and using donor eggs. Success rates of nondonor eggs are divided into five separate age groups, making it easier to find data relevant to your situation. The numbers for donor eggs aren’t divided by age, as this hasn’t been shown to affect success rates. These rates are further divided by the type of ART, or assisted reproductive technology, that is performed. If a clinic reports fewer than 20 cycles, the success rate is displayed as a fraction, because not a large enough sample size is present to make the statistical average reliable.
A success rate shouldn’t be your sole deciding factor when choosing a fertility clinic, however, because statistics are influenced by a number of factors that don’t show up in a final percentage. Some clinics accept more difficult cases, for example, so their numbers will be lower than a clinic that discourages older women from using their own eggs or a clinic that performs procedures on couples who may have been able to get pregnant with less dramatic intervention. Also, success rates are based on cycles, not patients, so a woman who has a baby after going through several unsuccessful cycles would lower a clinic’s numbers, even though she had a personally successful outcome.
If you find this level of detail overwhelming, your physician or your agency program coordinator are two great resources to turn to for help. Because they’re already familiar with your situation, they can help guide you to the decision that’s right for you. If you’re looking for guidance on your journey to creating your family, contact Surrogate Solutions today.
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