On success rate:
Abstract from
http://www.drmalpani.com/book/chapter25f.html
"With this in mind, the Fertility society of Australia recommends that no more than 3 embryos be transferred during any treatment cycle. Studies done the world over show that the average pregnancy rate per cycle for IVF is about 30 % for most patients.
How can a patient interpret this figure ? For example, let us consider a 30 year old patient with irreparable tubal damage who goes through one IVF cycle. She can look at the pregnancy rate figure of 30 %. in two ways . A success rate of 30 % means there is an 70 % chance she will not get pregnant. On the other hand, if she takes no treatment, her chance of getting pregnant is zero . The IVF cycle has increased this to 30 % - no one can do any better than this today !
Of course, for the couple who gets a baby, it's a 100% baby - and for the one who fails, it's 0% - so for the individual patient, it's really not a question of statistics ! Each IVF treatment cycle is a bit like taking a gamble - and you need to hope for the best and prepare for the worst!"
On implantation:
Abstract from
http://www.drmalpani.com/failedivf.htm
"Successful embryo implantation depends upon the health of the embryo, and one of the reasons embryos may fail to implant is that they may be chromosomally abnormal (even though they look normal). Research has shown that the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities even in good looking embryos is as high as 50% !
On an intellectual level , we understand that there are broadly only two groups of reasons for failure of implantation. One could be that the embryos are not of good quality; while the other is that there is a problem with endometrial receptivity."
