Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2025
Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Vitrification: Clinical and Laboratory Perspectives
Published on: September 16, 2021
Validation of prognosis-based in vitro fertilization grant selection criteria
Jennifer B Bakkensen1, Elise Heisler2,3, Katherine Bolten1
1Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
Objective:
To validate a prognosis-based scoring system for in vitro fertilization (IVF) grant allocation.
Design:
Retrospective cohort study.
Setting:
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that awards donated IVF cycles and grants to those with demonstrated financial need. In contrast to lottery-based or subjective allocation systems, applications are scored according to medical prognostic criteria in addition to personal characteristics.
Patients:
Grant recipients from 2015 to 2019.
Interventions:
None.
Main Outcome Measures:
Live birth rate (LBR) and cumulative LBR (CLBR) among grant recipients were compared with 2019 Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) national averages.
Results:
A total of 435 applications were reviewed, with 59 grants awarded for 51 autologous IVF cycles, 6 donor oocyte cycles, and 2 gestational carrier cycles, resulting in 39 live births after initial embryo transfer (LBR 61.9%) and 43 CLBRs (CLBR 72.9%). Among autologous cycles, the mean (±SD=3.9 years) age was 31.8 years, and LBR and CLBR were 62.8% and 68.6% vs. 28.2% and 37.1% among all autologous SART cycles, respectively. A subanalysis of grant recipients aged <35 years (n=39) revealed LBR and CLBR of 66.7% and 74.4% vs. 40.7% and 47.8% among autologous SART cycles aged <35 years, respectively.
Conclusions:
A scoring system incorporating medical criteria identified IVF grant applicants with a high likelihood of achieving a LB. Although most IVF grant programs select recipients through a lottery or personal characteristics, a prognosis-based scoring system should be considered to maximize LBR in a limited resource setting.
