Overview
- Researchers analyzed HFEA-licensed clinic records from 1991–2018 covering more than 1.2 million ART cycles and over 500,000 first-time patients.
- For women aged 43 and older, live-birth rates using their own non-frozen eggs remained below 5%, while donor-egg treatments achieved success rates above one-third across ages.
- By 2018, donor eggs accounted for more than half of ART births at ages 43–44 and over 90% among women aged 45–50.
- Fertility treatment uptake rose from about 6,000 starters in 1991 to nearly 25,000 in 2018 as overall ART success nearly doubled from roughly 15% to about 28%.
- The authors call for clearer age-specific success information and supportive family policies, noting HFEA data showing donor egg or embryo births increased from 320 in 1995 to around 1,300 in 2019.