title: Effect of Embryo Banking on U.S. National Assisted Reproductive Technology Live Birth Rates.
abstract: Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) reports generated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exclude embryo banking cycles from outcome calculations.
  
  
  
  We examined data reported to the CDC in 2013 for the impact of embryo banking exclusion on national ART outcomes by recalculating autologous oocyte ART live birth rates. Inflation of reported fresh ART cycle live birth rates was assessed for all age groups of infertile women as the difference between fresh cycle live births with reference to number of initiated fresh cycles (excluding embryo banking cycles), as typically reported by the CDC, and fresh cycle live births with reference to total initiated fresh ART cycles (including embryo banking cycles).
  
  
  
  During 2013, out of 121,351 fresh non-donor ART cycles 27,564 (22.7%) involved embryo banking. The proportion of banking cycles increased with female age from 15.5% in women <35 years to 56.5% in women >44 years. Concomitantly, the proportion of thawed cycles decreased with advancing female age (P <0.0001). Exclusion of embryo banking cycles led to inflation of live birth rates in fresh ART cycles, increasing in size in parallel to advancing female age and utilization of embryo banking, reaching 56.3% in women age >44. The inflation of live birth rates in thawed cycles could not be calculated from the publically available CDC data but appears to be even greater.
  
  
  
  Utilization of embryo banking increased during 2013 with advancing female age, suggesting a potential age selection bias. Exclusion of embryo banking cycles from national ART outcome reports significantly inflated national ART success rates, especially among older women.
  
  
  
  Exclusion of embryo banking cycles from US National Assisted Reproductive Technology outcome reports significantly inflates reported success rates especially in older women.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, NY, United States of America.|Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States of America.
authors.forename: Vitaly A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Kushnir
authors.affiliation: The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, NY, United States of America.|Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, New York, NY, United States of America.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Barad
authors.affiliation: The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, NY, United States of America.|University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States of America.
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.affiliation: The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, NY, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sarah K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Darmon
authors.affiliation: The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, NY, United States of America.|The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States of America.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gleicher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001723:Birth Rate; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D014481:United States