SELECTING A FERTILITY CLINIC

Selecting a fertility clinic can depend on a number of factors: insurance, availability, location (you will likely have a lot of appointments, so proximity can be a factor). 

You can also look up fertility clinic success rates in the United States, as clinics are supposed to report assisted reproductive technology (ART) data annually to the CDC. Search the clinic on the SART website (sart.org).  

Where to Find Clinic Success Rates by Age

1. Clinic’s Website / Patient Info Section
   Many fertility clinics publish “success rates” or “outcomes” data on their websites, often with breakdowns by age group (e.g., <35, 35–37, 38–40, 41–42, >42).

• They may show live birth rate per transfer or per retrieval.
  Sometimes they include cumulative rates (across multiple cycles).

2. National / Regulatory Databases in the U.S.

• CDC – ART Success Rates: In the U.S., fertility clinics are supposed to report assisted reproductive technology (ART) data annually to the CDC (via the National ART Surveillance System). You can view aggregate and clinic-level data there, often with age breakdowns. CDC+2CDC+2

• SART Clinic Summary Report (CSR): The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology publishes a “Clinic Summary Report” where you can look up clinics and see their success rates (often broken out by age groups) Sartcors Online+2sart.org+2

• State or regional registries (depending on your country) may likewise publish ART/IVF success data.

3. As part of your consultation / ask the clinic directly:

• Request their age-based live birth rates for your age group (ideally for the same type of cycle you’ll undergo — e.g. fresh vs frozen, with own vs donor eggs).

• Ask for raw numbers (how many cycles, how many transfers, how many live births) so you can see how much statistical “weight” the percentages have.

What to Look For & What the Numbers Mean

When you see a clinic’s success rates, examine these aspects:

• Denominator type
  Per cycle started: includes cycles even if no egg retrieval or transfer was possible.

• Per retrieval: only counts cycles where eggs were actually retrieved.

• Per embryo transfer: only counts cases where embryos were transferred.
  Cumulative: considers multiple transfers from one retrieval or multiple cycles over time. CDC+2Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago™+2

• Age-stratified data
  You want the success rate for your age bracket, not the overall average — because age is a major driver of outcomes.

• Type of cycles included

• Fresh vs frozen embryo transfers

• Use of donor eggs or donor embryos (often reported separately, because donor egg success is not dependent on the recipient’s age) CDC+1

• First transfer vs subsequent transfers

• How many embryos transferred (single vs multiple)

• Sample size & statistical stability
  Very small numbers (e.g. a clinic did only 5 transfers for your age group in a year) mean the percentages may fluctuate a lot and aren’t as reliable.

• Timeframe / recency
  Prefer recent data (last 1–3 years), since lab techniques, technology, and protocols improve with time.

• Transparency / auditing
  Look for clinics audited or verified by their local ART reporting systems — that increases trust in the accuracy of the numbers.

Example of U.S. Clinic Success Rate Data

To give you a ballpark sense:

• The CDC’s ART reports show success rates by age using non-donor eggs (live birth per retrieval or per transfer) for many clinics. CDC+1

• The SART Clinic Summary Report is a public tool where you can look up many U.S. clinics and see their age-based outcomes. Sartcors Online+1
  Some specific clinics publish their own: For example, one clinic’s data shows their “Live Births per New Patient” breakdown:

• < 35: ~64.3%

• 35–37: ~53.4%

• 38–40: ~42.4%

• 41–42: ~21.8%

• 42: ~7.1% RMA of New York

These numbers vary widely between clinics, depending on patient populations, lab quality, and practices.

Recommendations

• Don’t compare clinics solely on “who has the highest rate.” The patient populations (age, diagnosis severity, prior attempts) differ. A clinic that takes on more advanced or “difficult” cases might have lower overall rates but be better suited for you.

• Always match the data to your type of cycle. Success rates for “donor egg cycles” won’t reflect your odds if you use your own eggs.

• Ask for raw numbers. Percentages alone can be misleading without the context of how many cycles or transfers they represent.

• Check if they use preimplantation genetic testing (PGT-A), clinics that screen embryos may have different success profiles.

• Use cumulative (multi-cycle) probabilities when possible, rather than expecting one “perfect” cycle.

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