Assisted reproductive technology in Latin America: an example of regional cooperation and development

¹ Correspondence address. E-mail: fzegers{at}clc.cl BACKGROUND: Since 1990, the Latin American Registry of Assisted Reproductioncovers more than 80% of the assisted reproductive technology(ART) cycles performed regionally. METHODS: 130 centers enter their data online, and after collection, itis analyzed and published regionally. RESULTS: This paper analyses trends in ART procedures initiated between1990 and 2004, and babies born up to 2005. Overall, the datainclude 150,000 embryo transfer (ET) cycles, 33,500 deliveriesand the birth of 44,978 babies. The yearly increment in initiatedcycles is below other regions of the world. The economic, religiousand social factors explaining this limited access to ART arediscussed. Major trends include: an increase in the age of femalepartner undergoing treatments; a marked shift towards an increasein the use of ICSI; and a steady increase in the delivery ratesper ET reaching 24.6% in IVF/ICSI cycles, and 30.7% in OD cycles.Despite a slight decrease in the mean number of ET (2.9), almosthalf of all births are either twins or triplets. CONCLUSIONS: Our region is confronted with two main issues: limited accessto those who can afford it; and a high number of embryos transferredresulting in almost 50% of babies born from multiple births.