Is Mini-IVF the next breakthrough in fertility treatments?
Life certainly is full of coincidences! I was just having a discussion with a colleague of my regarding a new, prestigious study that came out comparing MINI-IVF™ and Conventional IVF Techniques. Our discussion was centered around SART’s inclusion of MINI-IVF™ as a mainstream, reportable technique. This is great news, and FOX picked the story up too, so you can read along here.
The idea I would like to put forth is that, in light of new technology, there should be another way of calculating success rates for certain age groups. This article states that, nationally speaking, Mini-IVF™ has a lower success rate than conventional IVF. However, our own published studies contradict these findings. To balance the idea out, it is important not to simply judge success on pregnancy rates, but also, how many eggs it took to become pregnant. We like to say that Mini IVF™ is “IVF Efficient”.
Using conventional IVF for women above 35 years of age, according to the research of our collaborators in the development of Mini IVF at Kato’s Ladies Clinic in Japan, conventional IVF requires on average 15-20 eggs per every one live birth. However, we can achieve the same results with only 6 eggs using Mini IVF™. This is reiterated by the woman in the FOX article that now has a healthy, live birth baby. These results are especially relevant to women seeking egg banking who wish to know how many eggs need to be frozen to achieve one live birth in the future.
Mini IVF™ is about quality eggs, not their quantity. It also requires tremendous skill in the laboratory and from the fertility doctor involved. This technique has a large learning curve and is technologically more demanding than conventional IVF, so not all centers are able to achieve high success with it. But with the proper training, Mini IVF™ is the best option for many women looking to become pregnant.
