ASRM:Press Release

Statement Attributable to R. Dale McClure, MD ~
President, American Society for Reproductive Medicine

ASRM's concerns about Ms. Suleman's octuplet pregnancy have been heightened since she announced in her Today Show interview that all of her children were conceived using IVF. We are pleased that the California Medical Board has announced they will be investigating this matter, and we are prepared to assist them in any way we can.

We too have contacted Ms. Suleman and the physician named in the interview in order to learn more about the circumstances leading to her octuplet pregnancy. Only when we obtain and evaluate such information will we be able to determine an appropriate course of action.

Physicians have known for many years the dangers of multiple pregnancy. ASRM and its affiliate, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), have worked steadily to formulate evidence-based guidelines for the number of embryos to transfer in assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles.

We issued our first embryo transfer guidelines in 1996 and began to see a reduction in high-order multiple pregnancies the very next year. According to the CDC, in 1996 7% of fresh, non-donor ART cycles reaching embryo transfer and resulting in a live birth were triplets or more. By 2005, that number had fallen to only 2% of such cycles. This was achieved without hurting the pregnancy rates for our patients. In fact, during the same period, the live birth rate from fresh non-donor embryo transfers increased from 28% in 1996 to 34.3% in 2005.

Our guidelines provide the flexibility to give each patient treatment individualized to her needs, and her best chance to become pregnant without risking high-order multiple pregnancy. SART member clinics are committed to following those guidelines. However, it seems that the guidelines may not have been followed in Ms. Suleman's case.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, founded in 1944, is an organization of more than 8,000 physicians, researchers, nurses, technicians and other professionals dedicated to advancing knowledge and expertise in reproductive biology. Affiliated societies include the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and the Society of Reproductive Surgeons.

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