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The economic impact of the assisted reproductive technologies

Nature Medicine volume 8, pages S29–S32 (2002)Cite this article

Thousands of cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF) are performed each year. In the US, multiple births occur after 39% of IVF cycles, whereas in Europe, the figure is 26%. Indeed, multiple births are a major factor in the costs attributable to IVF. Reducing the multiple birth rate may reduce the overall costs of IVF, and providing insurance coverage of IVF may contribute to lowering multiple birth rates. The use of IVF is likely to expand in response to increases in infertility and scientific advances.

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Figure 1: An international comparison of assisted reproductive technology rates.
Figure 2: An international comparison of ART delivery and multiple birth rates.
Figure 3: Ultrasound of triplet IVF pregnancy.

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Acknowledgements

P.K., R.N and J.S. are supported in part by grant number P01-HD-37074 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

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  1. Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 94143-0936, CA, USA

    Patricia Katz, Robert Nachtigall & Jonathan Showstack

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  1. Patricia Katz
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Correspondence to Patricia Katz.

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Katz, P., Nachtigall, R. & Showstack, J. The economic impact of the assisted reproductive technologies. Nat Med 8 (Suppl 10), S29–S32 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm-fertilityS29

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