At the ESHRE Annual Meeting in Amsterdam, data presented revealed that women in Europe are undergoing more cycles of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI). The data from the ESHRE European IVF Monitoring (EIM) Consortium indicates a steady rise in the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).
In 2021, a total of 1,103,633 ART treatment cycles were reported by 1,382 clinics across 37 European countries, marking a 20% increase from the 919,364 cycles reported in 2020. This increase is notable considering the impact of COVID-19 on the number of treatment cycles in 2020.
The 2021 treatment cycles included 153,191 IVF, 418,069 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), 368,464 frozen embryo replacements, 78,432 preimplantation genetic testing, 79,510 egg donations, 415 in vitro maturation of oocytes, and 5,552 cycles with frozen oocyte replacement. Additionally, 1,441 institutions reported 148,194 IUI treatments using the partner’s semen and 48,583 IUI treatments using donor semen. Fertility preservation interventions, including oocyte, ovarian tissue, semen, and testicular tissue banking, totaled 28,768 from 15 countries.
Clinical pregnancy rates per aspiration and per transfer remained stable in 2021 compared to 2020 for both IVF (26.3% and 33.5% in 2021 versus 25.4% and 33.2% in 2020) and ICSI (23.9% and 33.5% in 2021 versus 25.2% and 33.0% in 2020). Pregnancy rates per transfer for frozen embryo replacements with own embryos slightly increased to 37.0% in 2021 from 36.0% in 2020. Pregnancy rates for fresh embryo transfers from egg donations were 53.1% in 2021 compared to 51.3% in 2020, while for frozen oocyte replacements the rates slightly decreased to 45.5% in 2021 from 45.7% in 2020.
The data also showed an increase in the use of single embryo transfer, rising from 57.9% in 2020 to 60.5% in 2021. The proportion of singleton, twin, and triplet deliveries in 2021 was 90.4%, 9.5%, and 0.1%, respectively, compared to 88.9%, 10.9%, and 0.2% in 2020. Twin and triplet delivery rates after frozen embryo replacement were 6.9% and 0.1% in 2021, compared to 7.9% and 0.1% in 2020.
Dr. Jesper Smeenk of Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital in Tilburg, Netherlands, and lead author of the study, stated: “The 25th ESHRE report on ART and IUI shows a continuous increase of reported treatment numbers and medically assisted reproduction (MAR)-derived live births in Europe. Being already the largest data collection on MAR in Europe, continuous efforts to stimulate data collection and reporting strive for future quality control and completeness of the data and offer higher transparency and vigilance in the field of reproductive medicine.”
Professor Dr. Karen Sermon, Chair of ESHRE, added: “This report underscores the significance of collaborative efforts and standardized reporting in advancing reproductive medicine. By enhancing data collection practices, we aim to elevate clinical standards and patient outcomes across Europe.”
The ESHRE EIM report represents the largest data collection on medically assisted reproduction in Europe. Since 1997, ART data aggregated by national registries, clinics, or professional societies have been collected and analyzed by the EIM. The data for 2021, covering treatments from January 1 to December 31, were provided by national registries or medical associations from 37 European countries.
The authors note that the findings should be interpreted with caution, as the methods of data collection and levels of completeness of reported data vary among European countries.
