If the response is suboptimal then cancellation may occur. Some programs will not accept older women or men with a severe sperm abnormality. These couples are more likely to have cycles canceled due to failure of ovulation induction and fertilization respectively. We accept women over the age of 40 as long as they have adequate ovarian function. We accept men with severe abnormalities and have been very successful even with sperm counts of under 100,000 with poor motility and in cases of a failed vascectomy reversal.
Retrievals refer to the actual attempt to obtain the eggs from the ovarian follicles.
In order to get to the stage of embryo transfer a successful egg retrieval has to be performed as well as fertilization and initial embryo development in the laboratory. A clinical pregnancy refers to the identification of a pregnancy sac in the uterus. A miscarriage may however still subsequently occur. It is therefore important to consider the live delivery rate. Two frequently used statistics need to be clearly identified and understood.