International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART): world report for cycles conducted...

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Global Health
• Biostatistics

Background:

• The International Committee Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART) has historically tracked global ART utilization, effectiveness, and safety.
• Previous reports indicated increasing ART cycle numbers and country participation, with regional variations in specific procedures like ICSI, PGT, and single embryo transfer.
• Past data showed rising delivery rates per cycle and decreasing multiple gestation rates over time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine global assisted reproductive technology (ART) utilization, effectiveness, and safety rates for 2017 and 2018.
• To identify and analyze trends in ART practices worldwide during the specified period.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective, cross-sectional survey was conducted, collecting data on ART procedures performed globally in 2017 and 2018.
• Data were submitted by 83 participating countries to ICMART from national or regional registries.
• Aggregate data were analyzed using ICMART-developed methods to calculate utilization, effectiveness, and safety metrics.

Main Results:

• Total reported ART cycles increased from 2,913,498 in 2017 to 3,303,505 in 2018, with estimated cycles reaching 3,107,188 and 3,568,635 respectively.
• The proportion of frozen embryo transfers (FET) rose to 55.7% in 2017 and 57.9% in 2018, while 'freeze all' cycles increased significantly.
• Pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) cycles saw a nearly five-fold increase from 2014 to 2018 (172,247 cycles in 2018), though with wide regional disparities.

Conclusions:

• The ICMART report provides a comprehensive overview of global ART, highlighting increasing utilization and shifts towards FET and PGT.
• Significant regional disparities in ART utilization persist, indicating potential differences in access to care.
• Further research is needed to understand and address the socioeconomic, cultural, resource, and regulatory factors contributing to regional variations in ART.