IVF's Magic Number

Photo: Biology Flashcards

According to a new study published in the medical journal Human Reproduction, there is a magic number of eggs for successful in-vitro fertilization: 15. Analyzing more than 400,000 IVF cycles in the U.K., the study found that:

There was a strong association between the number of eggs and LBR (live birth rate); LBR rose with an increasing number of eggs up to 15, plateaued between 15 and 20 eggs and steadily declined beyond 20 eggs. … The results showed a non-linear relationship between the number of eggs and LBR following IVF treatment. The number of eggs to maximize the LBR is 15.

Arri Coomarasamy, one of the study’s authors, says this is one of the first studies to look at the correlation between number of eggs and live births — and not, i.e., simply a successful fertilization.