Impact of the mandatory age-based single-embryo transfer legislation in Turkey on outcome of in vitro fertilization:a multicentre study

ABSTRACT

This study in Turkey evaluated the impact of age-based mandatory single-embryo transfer [SET] legislation with the subsequent increase in frozen-thawed embryo transfer [FT-ET] on pregnancy outcome of in vitrofertilization [IVF] patients. SET, FT-ET and double-embryo transfer were used in 5632 patients after legislation, while traditional IVF and FT-ET approach was used in 6029 patients before legislation. The cumulative pregnancy rate after legislation was slightly lower [38.2%] than before legislation [42.0%] but not significantly so. The single pregnancy rate for SET and traditional IVF were similar between the 2 groups [37.8% versus 28.7%], while multiple pregnancy rates were significantly higher before than after legislation [13.7% versus 0.3%]. For FT-ET, the number of cycles was significantly higher after legislation [862 versus 616]. SET yielded similar results to traditional IVF. In order to reduce multiple pregnancies without significantly decreasing pregnancy rates, SET might be a successful strategy