Newman, J. E., Paul, R. C., & Chambers, G. M. (2021). Assisted Reproductive Technology in Australia and New Zealand 2019. National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit. https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/30475
Newman JE, Paul RC, Chambers GM. Assisted Reproductive Technology in Australia and New Zealand 2019. National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit; 2021. doi:10.26190/unsworks/30475
Newman, Jade, et al. Assisted Reproductive Technology in Australia and New Zealand 2019. National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit, 2021.
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RRM Academy Synopsis
ART Registry Data Show 2019 IVF Outcomes in Australia, New Zealand
Fertility clinics in Australia and New Zealand ran 88,929 IVF and other ART cycles in 2019. Out of those cycles, fewer than 2 in 10 ended in a live birth, and success fell fast for older women.
Key Findings
Australian clinics ran 81,049 cycles and New Zealand clinics ran 7,880 cycles in 2019, up 6.2% and 2% from the year before.
For women under 30 using their own eggs, an embryo transfer led to a live birth 40.4% of the time with a fresh embryo, 33.9% with a thawed one.
For women over 44 using their own eggs, those same odds dropped to 1.7% for a fresh embryo and 9.2% for a thawed one.
Of 87,613 autologous and recipient cycles, clinicians reported unexplained infertility only for 17% and no cause of infertility for 24.1%. The report warns that diagnostic criteria vary by clinic.
Tracking 15,301 women from their first non-freeze-all cycle in 2017 using their own eggs, the live birth rate per initiated cycle was 24.7% on cycle one and 13.0% by cycle eight.
Interpretation
This is a registry report. The registry counts ART cycles logged by clinics in Australia and New Zealand in 2019. The data covers people already having ART. The registry's rates cannot be compared to natural conception, since it does not track people trying to conceive on their own. Most figures are per single cycle or per embryo transfer. They do not add up to a running total across a full course of care. One exception: the 15,301-woman group tracked cycle by cycle from 2017 to 2019. A woman's age was strongly linked to the odds of success.
RRM Context
This report logs a clinician-diagnosed cause for each cycle and warns that criteria vary by clinic. In 2019, 17% of 87,613 cycles listed unexplained infertility only. Restorative reproductive medicine treats unexplained infertility as undiagnosed and works to find the cause first. ART bypasses the reproductive system and does not treat infertility.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Key figures
Treatment activity, 2019
Measure
Value
Source
ART treatment cycles reported, Australia and New Zealand combined
88,929
Summary
ART treatment cycles reported, Australia
81,049
Summary
ART treatment cycles reported, New Zealand
7,880
Summary
Autologous cycles as a share of all ART treatments
95%
Summary
Cycles using frozen-thawed embryos or oocytes, share of autologous cycles
36.7%
Summary
Pregnancy and birth outcomes, 2019
Measure
Value
Source
Clinical pregnancy rate per initiated ART cycle, with underlying count
23.2% (20,668)
Treatment outcomes section
Live birth rate per initiated ART cycle, with underlying count
18.3% (16,310)
Treatment outcomes section
Overall clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer, all ART cycle types
35.4%
Treatment outcomes section
Live birth rate by cycle type, 2019
Measure
Value
Source
Live birth rate per initiated autologous fresh cycle, excluding freeze-all cycles
16.5%
Treatment outcomes section
Live birth rate per embryo transfer, autologous fresh cycles
25.3%
Treatment outcomes section
Live birth rate per initiated autologous thaw cycle
28.9%
Treatment outcomes section
Live birth rate per embryo transfer, autologous thaw cycles
29.8%
Treatment outcomes section
Live birth rate by age, 2019
Measure
Value
Source
Live birth rate per embryo transfer, autologous fresh cycles, women under 30
40.4%
Age-stratified outcomes section
Live birth rate per embryo transfer, autologous thaw cycles, women under 30
33.9%
Age-stratified outcomes section
Live birth rate per embryo transfer, autologous fresh cycles, women over 44
1.7%
Age-stratified outcomes section
Live birth rate per embryo transfer, autologous thaw cycles, women over 44
9.2%
Age-stratified outcomes section
Babies born and multiples, 2019
Measure
Value
Source
Babies born following ART treatment
16,927
Babies born section
Liveborn babies following ART treatment
16,777
Babies born section
Full-term singleton babies of normal birthweight, share of ART babies born
81.5%
Babies born section
Five-year trend, 2015 to 2019
Measure
Value
Source
ART multiple birth rate
4.4% to 2.9%
Multiple birth trends section
Single embryo transfer rate
85.7% to 91.9%
Multiple birth trends section
ART live birth rate per embryo transfer
25.3% to 28%
Trends section
Patient age, 2019
Measure
Value
Source
Average age of women undergoing autologous ART cycles
35.8 years
Patient age section
Autologous-cycle women aged 40 or older, share of total
23.5%
Patient age section
Our summary of the report's published figures, each citing its table, figure or section. The full report is at the publisher's link.
