A Fair Ranking System for IVF Clinics

IVF Reports is an independent organization dedicated to providing accurate and useful information about in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics in the USA. The ranking system, which IVF Reports presents, is based on fair comparisons between clinics. The information is particularly tailored to potential patients who are contemplating fertility choices. Using data obtained from the Society of American Reproductive Technology (SART), IVF Reports grades clinics based on three main factors: quality, safety, and consistency.

The Ranking System

To quantify safety, quality and consistency, we have gathered publicly available statistics from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, and we have made use of two key measurements: the average number of embryos ransferred per cycle, and the average implantation rate per embryo. We have not used data from the Center For Disease Control, because this institute does not publicly share implantation rates. Consequently some clinics, which do not report to SART are not presented here. These clinics can contact us directly in case they wish to be ranked by IVF Reports. The average number of embryos transferred is the statistic we employ to measure safety. Multiple-birth pregnancies put both the mother and the children at higher risk than a single-birth pregnancy. Thus, our guiding principal is that clinics that transfer fewer embryos on average maintain higher standards of safety. To assess quality, our ranking system derives a score based on the clinic’s implantation rate. The implantation rate is the frequency of implantation (when an embryo attaches to the uterus and forms a sac or fetus) related to the number of embryos transferred per patient. All overall ranking scores are corrected for maternal age. The consistency score is obtained by evaluating the change in ranking over the past two years. We also separately report a SART score, which reflects on the life birth success rates presented by SART and CDC. This score is corrected for maternal age by IVF Reports.