ART in Europe, 2018: results generated from European registries by ESHRE

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine and Endocrinology
• In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
• Public Health and Healthcare Data Analysis

Background:

• The European IVF-monitoring Consortium (EIM) has collected and analyzed aggregated data on ART since 1997.
• Data from national registries, clinics, and professional societies are crucial for understanding trends in reproductive medicine.
• Previous reports have established a long-term monitoring system for ART in Europe.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the 2018 data on assisted reproductive technology (ART) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycle numbers and outcomes.
• To analyze trends in fertility preservation (FP) interventions reported in 2018 compared to previous years.
• To provide an updated overview of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) activities across European countries.

Main Methods:

• Data were collected from 1422 clinics across 39 European countries for ART cycles performed in 2018.
• Information on 1,007,598 ART cycles, including IVF, ICSI, FET, and egg donation, was reported.
• Data on 198,752 IUI cycles and 20,994 FP interventions were also gathered and analyzed.

Main Results:

• A total of 410,190 ART cycles were registered in 21 countries, with a mean of 1433 cycles per million inhabitants.
• Clinical pregnancy rates per transfer remained stable for IVF and ICSI, while rates after frozen embryo transfer (FET) increased.
• The trend towards single embryo transfer continued, leading to a decrease in twin delivery rates (12.4%) compared to 2017.

Conclusions:

• The 22nd ESHRE report highlights a continuous increase in ART and MAR-derived livebirths in Europe.
• There was a notable decrease in multiple embryo transfers and a corresponding reduction in twin delivery rates.
• Further optimization of data collection and reporting is needed to enhance surveillance in reproductive medicine.