Ideal number of eggs for IVF success?

If you've had IVF treatment, you'll know how important the number of eggs collected during the cycle can seem - but other than assuming that lots is good, most of us have little idea of what would be the perfect number to maximise the chances of success.

Now, researchers have analysed data from more than 400 000 IVF cycles using information from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to see if they could find a pattern of success related to the number of eggs collected. Looking at the live birth rate, they were attempting to produce a model to predict the chances of success based on the number of eggs and the age of the woman having treatment.

Their research showed the live birth rate rose gradually depending on the number of eggs collected until it reached 15 eggs, at which point it stayed stable until it got to 20 eggs, after which it began to decline. For women under the age of 34 who had 15 eggs, the live birth rate was 40% across the UK, and even for women of 40 and over, it reached 16% if they had reached the desired 15 eggs at collection. So 15 has been deemed as the ideal number of eggs in order to maximise the chances of achieving a live birth after IVF treatment.

You can read more details of the research, which has been published in Human Reproduction, here