Researchers have developed a new online IVF calculator to find the success rate of the treatment even before the first IVF cycle.
IVF or in-vitro fertilization involves fusing the egg and the sperm in a dish in laboratory conditions and placing the embryo in the uterus of a woman. Given that, predicting the success rate of the treatment is not an easy task as it depends on various factors such as pregnancy history of a woman, quality of the egg and sperm, age of the mother and the mother's uterine environment, noted research fellow David McLernon, from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
McLernon added that biological and genetic factors also play a huge role in the IVF of an embryo, which makes it predicting the success rate further tough.
Study For Developing IVF Calculator
For the purpose of the study, the researchers analyzed data from the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority that maintains information on IVF treatments carried out in IVF clinic across the UK. The data obtained had information on 113,873 women; 118,000 IVF cycles carried out in different clinics; total number of eggs produced; and number of eggs fertilized.
Information on total number of eggs transferred successfully and number of live births was also obtained from the database. With the help of the data, the researchers identified the factors that have impact on the success rate of the treatment like age of the woman; number of eggs produced from the cycle; the type of egg used (fresh or frozen); and the stage at which the fertilized embryo is transferred into the uterus.
It was observed that when more eggs are produced from the cycle, the higher the success rates were. However, when the number of eggs were more than 13, the quality of the eggs deteriorated and are less likely to become healthy embryos.
Advantages Of New IVF Calculator
According to McLernon, the free online IVF calculator can help couple in understanding their IVF journey beforehand and plan accordingly. The researchers also noted that current models available for use are applicable only for fresh eggs whereas the newly introduced calculator can be used in frozen eggs as well.
"After the first transfer of a fresh embryo, the number of eggs collected and the freezing of spare embryos were just as important as the age of the woman," said McLernon. "The more eggs collected -- up until the number reaches around 13, when it starts to level off -- the higher the chances of success."
The study is published in the BMJ on Nov. 16.
