IVF Success Factors

Fertility Treatment Center success rates – In Vitro Fertilization

FTC has a high rate of IVF success because of the skills and dedication of all our staff to advanced fertility care at our Arizona fertility center.

Our success is due to many factors:

• Our extensive knowledge in reproductive endocrinology, female infertility, and male infertility
• Our unique embryo freezing strategy of frozen embryo transfer (FET)
• The FET process allows us to pass on significant cost-savings to patients
• We take the time to really talk to you and learn your history
• We provide a complete evaluation, test, and diagnostic process
• Then we talk to you and review of all options available for best pregnancy success
• We don’t push high-cost procedures, especially if lower costs procedures will work best

Understanding Success Rates

It can be difficult to compare success rates from facility to facility, since some fertility clinics may screen out patients who are less likely to conceive, giving a clinic an inflated success rate. Dr. Craig will not do that and accepts all patients. At Fertility Treatment Center, we do not refuse care to patients because of their age, FSH levels, or number of follicles (potential eggs) produced each cycle. Dr. Craig starts with a complete evaluation, tests, and diagnostics. Then he develops the treatment plan (whether low, medium, or high-tech treatments) that he feels will provide the highest chance of success.

Dr. Craig’s overall practice success rate is very high and compares very well nationally, particularly with the over age 35 population, and the overall cost per pregnancy is much lower than other practice models. Dr. Craig believes strongly that every patient deserves a chance at building a family, even at the expense of an artificially depressed IVF success rate. It is important to note that the average patient without infertility problems has only a 20 percent chance of pregnancy per cycle under ideal circumstances.

In short, when selecting an IVF facility, it is important to look at all aspects of your treatment. Compare the total costs and ask about additional or potential unanticipated fees. Be willing to spend your own money wisely to get the best medical care possible. Ask your OB/GYN or family doctor for a referral. Ask friends, family, and co-workers whom they recommend. Look for board certification of doctors and laboratory personnel. Feel free to ask a lot of questions, read financial disclosures, and be a good consumer.

When patients meet with Dr. Craig, they are often surprised to learn that in vitro fertilization (IVF) may not be their first course of treatment. In reality, most patients start with a more basic treatment option. In fact, 74% of treatment cycles performed at Fertility Treatment Center include ovulation induction and intrauterine insemination (IUI) — low-tech treatments requiring less medication and fewer monitoring appointments with a lower cost.

Variables Influencing Pregnancy Success Rates

A basic understanding in the variables influencing pregnancy success rates allow you to make an informed decision when it comes to choosing a fertility treatment center. In fact, this knowledge can change how you view success rate data, rendering it either quite meaningful or quite meaningless to you. Some of the numerous factors that influence the outcome of every woman’s In Vitro Fertilization treatment are:

• your age,
• FSH levels,
• number of unsuccessful IVF or natural attempts,
• personal stress and lifestyle,
• weight and BMI,
• ovarian reserve,
• disorders of the female or male reproductive system,
• number of eggs created in each cycle,
• age of embryo(s) at the time of transfer

What is unseen in many statistics are the number of women who are denied treatment because one or more of the above-mentioned factors do not meet a clinic’s criteria. For example, some clinics may not accept women older than 39 with FSH levels above 15, or women anticipated making less than two eggs in each cycle. If you have “poor ranges” for any of the above, the SART data may be a meaningless guide to gauge what you can expect, since it largely represents women with the “best” fertility health.

In addition, for many years, most published data measures success of conventional IVF, not natural cycles, and Freeze-All cycles. This fact is an unfortunate drawback of reporting success data (for the industry and the consumer) because some clinics may select only ideal candidates to make their success rate data higher. Furthermore, some clinics may also cancel cycles for women who have been accepted into the IVF program and these cancellation rates (cycles cancelled before egg retrieval) are high, falling between 8 % and 19%.

Dr. Craig’s philosophy to treat all women is patient-friendly, FSH-friendly, and age-friendly. His fertility treatment philosophy does not include strict criteria designed to limit care or boost our success data. We know that taking on very difficult infertility cases can lower our overall success rate, but we are committed to providing treatment to all those who seek it, regardless of the difficulty of their case.