• Your treatment options
  • In vitro fertilisation (IVF)
    • Get started
    • Chance of success
    • The risks
    • IVF treatment options
  • Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
  • Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
  • Donor insemination (DI)
  • Genetic testing
  • Gamete intra fallopian transfer (GIFT)
  • In vitro maturation (IVM)
  • Reproductive immunology
  • Surrogacy
  • Fertility drugs
  • Surgery
• Your storage options
• Using donated sperm, eggs or embryos in your treatment
• When treatment fails, what next?
• Risks of fertility treatment

A woman’s ability to conceive a child reduces with age. If you are using your own eggs, on average, the younger you are the higher your chances of success.

In 2006, for women having in vitro fertilisation (IVF) using fresh embryos created with their own eggs, the percentage of cycles started that resulted in a live birth (national averages) was:  

• 28.6% (1980/6922) for women aged under 35
• 25.7% (1205/4684) for women aged between 35–37 
• 17.2% (496/2887) for women aged between 38–39
• 10.6% (262/2466) for women aged between 40–42
• 4.9% (25/513) for women aged between 43–44
• 0.8% (1/129) for women aged over 44

Figures given in brackets are (IVF cycles resulting in a live birth / IVF cycles started). The data does not include intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.

Page last updated: 28 August 2009

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