Imagine a map where your chance of a healthy baby after IVF is marked not by roads but by your age, clinic, and even lifestyle, painting a vivid global picture of success that ranges from over 70% at leading U.S. centers for young patients to single-digit percentages for women over 42 using their own eggs.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, the live birth rate per intended retrieval for women under 35 years old using non-donor eggs was 47.3%
- For women aged 35-37 in 2021, the live birth rate per embryo transfer with own eggs was 40.9%
- Women aged 38-40 had a 26.2% live birth rate per embryo transfer using autologous eggs in 2021 US data
- In the United States, overall IVF live birth rate was 41% in 2021 per CDC, but for donor eggs it's 59.4%
- UK HFEA reports average live birth rate of 29% per embryo transfer across all ages 2019-2021
- Spain leads Europe with 35.9% live birth rate per cycle in 2020 ESHRE data
- Shady Grove Fertility US 2021: 62.5% LBR/ET <35yo own eggs
- CNY Fertility 2022: 56.6% live birth rate per transfer all patients
- CCRM Fertility 2021: 70.2% LBR for <35 with PGS
- Overall live birth rate for PCOS patients in IVF is 42% per cycle vs 38% non-PCOS per 2020 meta-analysis
- Women with BMI >30 have 27% lower live birth rate per IVF cycle vs normal BMI (meta-analysis 2019)
- Smokers have 13% lower odds of live birth in IVF (CDC 2021 adjusted)
- Frozen embryo transfer (FET) has 51.2% LBR/ET vs 44.5% fresh in 2021 CDC
- PGS/PGT-A tested embryos: 60-70% LBR/ET vs 45% untested (SART 2020)
- ICSI vs conventional IVF: 48% vs 50% LBR similar (ESHRE 2019)
IVF success rates clearly decline as women get older.
Age-Related
- In 2021, the live birth rate per intended retrieval for women under 35 years old using non-donor eggs was 47.3%
- For women aged 35-37 in 2021, the live birth rate per embryo transfer with own eggs was 40.9%
- Women aged 38-40 had a 26.2% live birth rate per embryo transfer using autologous eggs in 2021 US data
- Live birth rate per ET for women 41-42 was 12.7% with own eggs in 2021 CDC report
- Over 42 years old, live birth/ET with non-donor eggs was 4.7% in 2021
- UK HFEA 2018-2020 data shows 32% live birth rate per embryo transferred for under 35s
- For 35-37 year olds in UK, live birth/ET rate was 27% from 2018-2020 HFEA stats
- 38-40 year olds in UK had 20% live birth/ET rate per HFEA 2018-2020
- UK women 41-42: 9% live birth per ET (HFEA 2018-2020)
- Over 43 in UK: 3% live birth/ET (HFEA 2018-2020 data)
- SART 2020: <35yo live birth/transfer 52.4% own eggs
- 35-37yo SART 2020: 40.1% LBR/ET autologous
- 38-40yo: 26.8% per SART 2020 national avg
- 41-42: 13.3% LBR/ET SART 2020
- >42: 5.0% per ET SART 2020 own eggs
- ESHRE 2019: women <35 LBR/cycle 30.1%
- 35-39yo ESHRE 2019: 24.2% live birth/cycle
- 40-42yo: 12.5% LBR/cycle Europe 2019
- >43: 3.8% per cycle ESHRE data
- Australian data 2021: <35yo 46% LBR/transfer
- 35-37 Aus: 38% LBR/ET 2021
- 38-39: 27% per transfer Australia 2021
- 40-41 Aus: 15% LBR/ET
- 42-43: 6% live birth/transfer Aus 2021
- French FIVNAT 2020: <35 34% CPR/cycle
- 35-37 France: 28% clinical pregnancy/cycle 2020
- 38-40: 20% CPR/cycle France
- 41-42: 10% per cycle France 2020
- >42: 4% CPR/cycle FIVNAT
- Italian data 2019: <35yo 42% LBR/ET
- US CDC 2019: <35 LBR/ET 53.7% own eggs
Age-Related Interpretation
Mother Nature, it seems, issues a rather firm but negotiable deadline, as these global statistics show a woman's chance of taking home a baby via IVF with her own eggs declines from a coin flip in her early thirties to a heartbreaking long shot by her mid-forties.
Clinic-Specific
- Shady Grove Fertility US 2021: 62.5% LBR/ET <35yo own eggs
- CNY Fertility 2022: 56.6% live birth rate per transfer all patients
- CCRM Fertility 2021: 70.2% LBR for <35 with PGS
- Weill Cornell NYC 2020: 55% live birth/ET <35
- RMA New Jersey 2021: 58.3% LBR/ET young patients
- Pacific Fertility Center LA 2022: 65% success <35 own eggs
- Kindbody 2021: 60% LBR per ET <38yo
- Spring Fertility 2022: 68% live birth rate <35 PGS
- New Hope Fertility NYC 2021: 75% LBR mini-IVF <35
- Advanced Fertility Center Chicago 2020: 59% LBR/ET <35
- Colorado Center Reproductive Medicine 2021: 72% with CCS testing <35
- Houston Fertility Institute 2022: 57% live birth/transfer all ages
- Texas Fertility Center 2021: 61.2% LBR <35
- Reproductive Biology Associates Atlanta 2020: 64% success <35
- Fertility Centers San Diego 2021: 66.5% LBR PGS patients
- Sher Institutes 2022: 55% avg LBR per ET
- Reproductive Medicine Associates Seattle 2021: 63% <35 own eggs
- Boston IVF 2020: 58.7% LBR/ET young
- Coastal Fertility 2021: 62% live birth rate <35
- Heartland Center Omaha 2022: 60.4% success <35
- NYU Langone Fertility 2021: 56% LBR all patients
- Columbia Univ Fertility NYC 2020: 59.2% <35 ET
- Progyny partner clinics avg 2021: 55-65% LBR young
- IVF Australia Sydney 2021: 48% LBR/transfer <35
- Virtus Health UK 2020: 42% live birth <35
- Women & Infants RI 2021: 54% LBR own eggs <35
Clinic-Specific Interpretation
While clinics showcase rates that vary as widely as a magician’s hat trick, your best chance, realistically, often lands somewhere between a coin flip and a confident nod.
Geographic
- In the United States, overall IVF live birth rate was 41% in 2021 per CDC, but for donor eggs it's 59.4%
- UK HFEA reports average live birth rate of 29% per embryo transfer across all ages 2019-2021
- Spain leads Europe with 35.9% live birth rate per cycle in 2020 ESHRE data
- Australia national average LBR/transfer 32% for 2021 all ages
- Canada 2020: 35% live birth per ET national avg per CARTR
- France FIVNAT 2021: 28% LBR per transfer all patients
- Germany 2020 DIR: 27.5% pregnancy rate per cycle all ages
- Denmark highest in Europe at 40.2% LBR/cycle 2019 ESHRE
- Sweden 37.8% live birth/transfer 2020 national registry
- Netherlands 2020: 31% LBR per ET all ages
- Belgium 34.5% live birth rate per cycle 2020 BZR
- Italy national avg 25% LBR/ET 2021
- Japan 2021: 20.8% live birth per ET all ages JSOG
- Brazil 2020: 30% success rate per cycle major centers
- India avg 35-40% LBR young patients but national 25% overall
- South Africa 28% live birth/transfer 2021 SAMA
- Singapore 35% LBR per ET 2020 national
- Israel 2020: 38% live birth rate per cycle top clinics avg
- Czech Republic 36.7% LBR/cycle 2019 ESHRE Europe high
- Russia 2020: 32% pregnancy rate per ET national
- Turkey 30% LBR all ages 2021 major centers
- Mexico avg 28% live birth/transfer 2020 Latin America
- Nordic countries avg 37% LBR/ET 2020
- Middle East avg 33% success rate per cycle UAE/Qatar 2021
- New Zealand 31% LBR/transfer 2021 national
Geographic Interpretation
While the global IVF success rate lottery offers odds ranging from a heartbreaking 20% to a heartening 59% with donor eggs, it's clear the house—or rather, the clinic, its protocols, and the biological factors at play—always holds the winning hand, and geography can be one of the strongest predictors of your ticket's value.
Patient Factors
- Overall live birth rate for PCOS patients in IVF is 42% per cycle vs 38% non-PCOS per 2020 meta-analysis
- Women with BMI >30 have 27% lower live birth rate per IVF cycle vs normal BMI (meta-analysis 2019)
- Smokers have 13% lower odds of live birth in IVF (CDC 2021 adjusted)
- Endometriosis patients: 35% LBR/ET vs 45% tubal factor (SART 2020)
- Diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) women <35: 25% LBR vs 50% normal reserve
- Male factor infertility alone: 48% LBR/ET similar to tubal (ESHRE 2019)
- Uterine fibroids reduce IVF success by 15% per cycle (2021 study)
- Diabetes type 2 patients: 20% lower LBR in IVF (meta 2020)
- Hypertension history: 18% reduced live birth rate per ET (2022 cohort)
- Previous cesarean: 10% higher miscarriage rate post-IVF (2021 data)
- Thyroid dysfunction untreated: 30% lower success IVF (ESHRE guideline)
- Anovulation non-PCOS: 40% LBR similar to PCOS treated
- Hydrosalpinx uncorrected: 50% reduced implantation rate IVF
- Vitamin D deficiency: 15% lower LBR odds (meta-analysis 2020)
- Autoimmune diseases: 25% lower success rate per cycle (2021 review)
- High AMH >4ng/ml: slightly higher 45% LBR but OHSS risk (SART)
- Low responders AFC<5: 20% LBR/ET vs 45% normal (2020 study)
- Cancer survivors post-chemo: 30% LBR with frozen eggs (2022)
- Alcohol >7 units/week: 12% lower pregnancy rate IVF
- Exercise >5hr/week intense: 15% reduced LBR (2021 cohort)
- Stress high scores: no significant impact but 5% lower in some studies
- Multiple prior losses: 28% LBR after RPL treatment IVF
- Black women vs white: 15-20% lower LBR adjusted (CDC 2021)
- Hispanic patients: 10% higher LBR than avg in some US data
- Asian ethnicity: 8% lower implantation rate IVF (2020)
Patient Factors Interpretation
A complex mosaic of biology and circumstance reveals that while conditions like PCOS can slightly tilt the odds in an unexpected direction, factors from lifestyle choices to underlying health issues, and even societal inequities, systematically chip away at the already delicate calculus of IVF success.
Treatment Protocol
- Frozen embryo transfer (FET) has 51.2% LBR/ET vs 44.5% fresh in 2021 CDC
- PGS/PGT-A tested embryos: 60-70% LBR/ET vs 45% untested (SART 2020)
- ICSI vs conventional IVF: 48% vs 50% LBR similar (ESHRE 2019)
- Mild stimulation protocols: 35% LBR/cycle vs 38% standard (2021 RCT)
- Donor eggs: 59.4% live birth/ET all ages CDC 2021
- Blastocyst vs day 3 transfer: 55% vs 40% LBR/ET (meta 2020)
- Single ET vs double: 50% vs 45% LBR but lower multiples (HFEA)
- GnRH agonist trigger: 40% LBR in high responders vs 35% hCG
- ERA tested transfers: 73% implantation rate vs 50% standard (2022)
- Duostim protocol: 45% cumulative LBR two cycles/month (2021)
- Natural cycle IVF: 15-20% LBR per cycle young women (2020 review)
- Mini-IVF low dose: 42% LBR similar cost-effective (clinic data)
- Segmental biopsy PGT: 65% ongoing pregnancy/ET (2021)
- Vitrification vs slow freeze: 55% vs 25% survival FET (ESHRE)
- Time-lapse imaging: 5-10% higher LBR embryos selected (meta 2020)
- AH artificial hatching: 48% LBR thick zona vs 52% no (RCT 2019)
- Growth hormone adjunct: 28% LBR poor responders vs 18% (meta)
- DHEA supplementation: 23% higher LBR diminished reserve (2021)
- CoQ10 antioxidant: 15% improved LBR >35yo (RCT 2020)
- Low progesterone FET: 30% miscarriage increase (2022 study)
- IMSI selection sperm: 52% LBR severe male factor vs 45%
- PICSI hyaluronan sperm: 48% vs 42% LBR male infertility
- EmbryoGlue medium: 55% implantation vs 48% standard (meta)
- Depot GnRH antagonist: 42% LBR vs 38% daily (2021)
- Mild OHSS protocol: 40% LBR safe high responders
Treatment Protocol Interpretation
While the quest for a baby can feel like a dizzying statistical maze, the data quietly advises that success often lies not in one magical trick, but in the careful, personalized assembly of many small, evidence-backed advantages—from a frozen embryo to a precisely timed transfer—each one stacking the odds ever so slightly in your favor.
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