11 infographics explaining the latest trends in fertility treatment in the UK, including who and how many people are having fertility treatment, what treatment they're having, where they're having it, how it's being funded and how successful it is.

1. Fertility treatment
2017: trends
and figures
Headlines from our
#FertilityTrends report
May 2019

2. How many people are
having fertility treatment?
#FertilityTrends
In 2017
54,760
patients underwent
75,425
treatments

3. What are the main types
of fertility treatment?
IVF
69,822 cycles
in 2017
The most popular
treatment, accounting
for 93% of fertility
treatment cycles.
Donor
insemination
5,603 cycles
in 2017
#FertilityTrends

4. Who is having fertility treatment?
#FertilityTrends
Surrogates
0.4%
Patients in
heterosexual couples
90.7%
Same-sex partnerships
5.9%
No partner
3.0%

5. Who is having fertility treatment?
#FertilityTrends
IVF
patient average age
65% are under 37
35.5
years
34.5
years
73% are under 37
Donor insemination
patient average age

6. How successful are fertility treatments?
Success rates continue to improve.
#FertilityTrends
22%
The IVF birth rate per
embryo transferred (PET)
(18% in 2012)
14%
The donor insemination
birth rate per treatment
cycle (13% in 2012)
Under
35
The highest birth rates
are for women under 35
(30% PET)

7. Where are people having treatment?
#FertilityTrends
Wales
2,905 cycles
Northern Ireland
1,885 cycles
Scotland
5,475 cycles
In 2017:
England
65,087 cycles

8. How much fertility treatment
is funded by the NHS?
#FertilityTrends
Scotland Wales England
Northern
Ireland
2012
2017 62% 50% 35%39%
42% 48% 28% 39%

9. What’s the multiple birth rate?
#FertilityTrends
Multiple births are the
biggest risk of fertility
treatment.
We set a target that
no more than 10% of IVF
births should be multiples
and this was achieved in
2017 – a reduction from
24% in 2008.
2008 2017
24% 10%

10. IVF using frozen embryos is becoming
more popular and successful.
#FertilityTrends
11%
The number of IVF cycles using
frozen embryos increased by 11%
since 2016
23%
In 2017, the birth rate per embryo
transferred was 23%, compared to
21% for cycles using fresh embryos.

11. Egg freezing is the fastest
growing fertility treatment type.
#FertilityTrends
10%
Increasing 10% between
2016 and 2017
1,462
Egg freezing was used in
1,462 cycles in 2017
(410 in 2012)
581
Egg thawing was used
in 581 cycles in 2017
(159 in 2012)

12. What other trends are we seeing?
#FertilityTrends
Use of donor eggs and/or
sperm in IVF made up 13% of
fertility treatments in 2017.
This has been increasing
each year.
13%

13. Find the full #FertilityTrends
report on our website
For clear, impartial, reliable
information on fertility
treatments and clinics,
visit www.hfea.gov.uk
#FertilityTrends