FACT SHEET:
IVF CONSUMER DATA HISTORY

1984
The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) is established at a meeting of the American Fertility Society. At the time, it is named the “IVF Special Interest Group” in order to report only pooled data of its membership (no clinic-specific data) for inclusion in the IVF Registry

1985
In response to complaints regarding exploitation and unscrupulous practices in the area of infertility, and IVF in particular, the United States Congress starts hearings under the auspices of the Office of Technology Assessment (OT A) to address
consumer concerns.

1989
Office of Technology Assessment (OT A) proceedings and conclusions published in the “Wyden Report”. Congress subsequently mandates — under threat of prosecution — that all IVF programs in the United States report their ART outcome statistics for 1987. The first report of clinic-specific ART outcome statistics in the U.S. is published.

1992
Congress passes the “IVF Success Rate Certification Act of 1992” — which is implemented in 1997 — to compel honest disclosure of IVF success rates and quality assurance in all IVF programs

1994
SART gives tacit support to introduction of an “audit” of all its member programs. Peat, Marwick & Company engaged to develop and implement a clinic-specific-IVFoutcome based reporting process. This is abandoned before year-end.

Subsequent gestures to introduce alternative methods for appropriate verification of IVF outcome reporting lead to current “Self-Reporting Process” with “token” random and sporadically conducted onsite reviews

2002
SART sends letter to all IVF Program Directors in the U.S. stating that as a result of “lack of financial and human resources,” random onsite reviews of outcome data would not be done for 2002. Instead, IVF facility Medical Directors to perform a “self-review” of medical and laboratory records of ten (10) pre-selected IVF clinic cases. Upon receipt, the center would pass certification and the programs’ total, selfgenerated IVF outcome date for the year 2000 would be published on the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) website.