International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology: world report on assisted reproductive technology, 2005

To analyze information on assisted reproductive technology (ART) performed worldwide and trends in outcomes over successive years.

Cross-sectional survey on access, effectiveness, and safety of ART procedures performed in 53 countries during 2005.

A total of 2,973 clinics from national and regional ART registries.

Infertile women and men undergoing ART globally.

Collection and analysis of international ART data.

Number of cycles performed by country and region, including pregnancies, single and multiple birth rates, and perinatal mortality.

Overall, 1,052,363 ART procedures resulted in an estimated 237,315 babies born. The availability of ART varied by country from 15 to 3,982 cycles per million of population. Of all initiated fresh cycles, 62.9% were intracytoplasmic sperm injection. The overall delivery rate per fresh aspiration was 19.6% and for frozen embryo transfer 17.4%, with a cumulative delivery rate of 23.9%. With wide regional variations, single embryo transfer represented 17.5% of cycles, and the proportion of deliveries with twins and triplets from fresh transfers was 23.6% and 1.5%, respectively.

Systematic collection and dissemination of international ART data allows patients, health professionals, and policy makers to examine and compare the impact of reproductive strategies or lack of them as markers of reproductive health.