OBJECTIVE:

To assess the factors that determine the number of embryos to be transferred after assisted reproduction treatment in Turkey, and compare the number of embryos transferred to that in other European countries.

MATERIALS-METHODS:

An electronic questionnaire that sought for clinicians’ preferences for the number of embryos to be transferred under several scenarios was posted on the Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine (TSRM) web site. Effects of woman’s age, embryo quality, outcome of previous ART treatments, and the presence of primary or secondary infertility on the choice of number of embryos to be transferred was assessed with trend analysis.

RESULTS:

The number of embryos to be transferred increased linearly with women’s age, and increased in the presence of poor prognostic factors such as poor embryo quality and recurrent implantation failure. Respondents chose to transfer less embryos to secondary infertile women. While the clinicians chose to transfer 3 embryos in most scenarios, they only chose to transfer less than 3 embryos to only couples with obvious good prognostic features. The number of embryos frequently increased to 4 or 5 for women of advanced age, or for women with poor quality embryos. Less than 50% of the respondents preferred to transfer 2 or a single embryo to women with good prognostic features, the proportion of clinicians preferring single embryo transfer was less than 15% even in the most favorable scenario.

CONCLUSIONS:

This TSRM survey has revealed the trends for embryo transfer among Turkish physicians. The number of embryos transferred is high compared to most European countries. According to the literature, decreasing the number of embryos transferred may decrease multiple pregnancies and related complictions and costs without significantly decreasing the live birth rate per transfer cycle. It may be beneficial to stress this fact in educational programs.

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the factors that determine the number of embryos to be transferred after assisted reproduction treatment in Turkey, and compare the number of embryos transferred to that in other European countries.

MATERIALS-METHODS:

An electronic questionnaire that sought for clinicians’ preferences for the number of embryos to be transferred under several scenarios was posted on the Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine (TSRM) web site. Effects of woman’s age, embryo quality, outcome of previous ART treatments, and the presence of primary or secondary infertility on the choice of number of embryos to be transferred was assessed with trend analysis.

RESULTS:

The number of embryos to be transferred increased linearly with women’s age, and increased in the presence of poor prognostic factors such as poor embryo quality and recurrent implantation failure. Respondents chose to transfer less embryos to secondary infertile women. While the clinicians chose to transfer 3 embryos in most scenarios, they only chose to transfer less than 3 embryos to only couples with obvious good prognostic features. The number of embryos frequently increased to 4 or 5 for women of advanced age, or for women with poor quality embryos. Less than 50% of the respondents preferred to transfer 2 or a single embryo to women with good prognostic features, the proportion of clinicians preferring single embryo transfer was less than 15% even in the most favorable scenario.

CONCLUSIONS:

This TSRM survey has revealed the trends for embryo transfer among Turkish physicians. The number of embryos transferred is high compared to most European countries. According to the literature, decreasing the number of embryos transferred may decrease multiple pregnancies and related complictions and costs without significantly decreasing the live birth rate per transfer cycle. It may be beneficial to stress this fact in educational programs.

Keywords: Embryo transfer, In vitro fertilization, Assisted reproduction techniques, survey