More than 13 million infants have been born globally through assisted reproductive technology (ART) since the birth of the first “test-tube baby” in 1978, a global study has revealed.

Published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, the study is based on 40 years of systematic data collection by the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART). 

“The global lower and upper estimates of infants born from ART from 1978 through 2018 are 9,829,668 and 13,019,331,” the researchers said. 

Lead author Dr. G. David Adamson, along with a team of global fertility experts, analyzed decades of data contributed by national and regional registries. 

“These observational cohort reports were collated and analyzed to obtain the number of infants born,” the authors noted, 

ART, they said, has evolved from an experimental procedure into a cornerstone of modern reproductive medicine. 

“This large number of infants born from both conventional and innovative applications of ART confirms that ART has helped millions of people realize parenthood, is now mainstream medicine, has had a significant societal impact, including novel family formation, and highlighted inequities regarding reproductive rights and access to care.”

However, obtaining numbers wasn’t easy. While ART outcomes have been inconsistently reported across the world, the study filled in gaps left by nonreporting clinics and countries. “Because reporting of outcomes is inconsistent, and clinics, countries, and regions report incompletely, sporadically, or not at all, statistical estimates were used to estimate the additional number of infants born from nonreporting clinics, countries, and regions.”

The authors highlighted that “reporting of outcomes is inconsistent” and that their estimates were derived from “assumptions about the number of births from nonreporting clinics.”

ART encompasses a range of fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), embryo transfer, and other advanced laboratory-assisted procedures. The study reflects both the successes of the technology and the gaps in global access and transparency.

“Ten million and up to 13 million or more infants have been born from ART in the 40 years since the first ART-conceived infant was born in 1978,” the study reported.

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