This section is provided to help consumers understand the information presented in the fertility clinic tables. The number before each heading refers to the number of the corresponding section in the sample clinic table on the opposite page. Technical terms are defined in the glossary in the appendix . Program Characteristics SART member 323 of the 335 clinics reporting data from 1997 are SART members. Some clinics have programs for ART using donor eggs.
Policies regarding sharing of donor eggs vary from clinic to clinic.
Because the percentages of GIFT and ZIFT are usually small, these three types of ART are combined. However, knowing the percentage of each type of procedure performed can be useful because carrying out a higher percentage of GIFT procedures may increase a clinic s success rate. ART Patient Diagnosis Consumers may want to know what percentage of a particular clinic s patients have the same diagnosis as they do. In addition, patients diagnoses may affect a clinic s success rates. However, the use of these diagnostic categories may vary from clinic to clinic, and the definitions are imprecise.