Impact of the spanish fertility society guidelines on the number of embryos to transfer Cabello, Y Gomez-Palomares, JL Hernandez, J Marqueta, J Pareja, A Luceño, F Hernandez, E Coroleu, B Castilla Alcalá, José Antonio economic impact ICSI IVF multiple pregnancy number of embryos The multiple pregnancy rate in assisted reproduction treatment cycles depends, fundamentally, on the number of embryos transferred. It is essential that patients and professionals should have good practical guidelines on the best number of embryos to be transferred in each cycle in order to obtain high pregnancy rates with minimal risk of multiple pregnancies. This study analysed the impact made by the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF) guidelines on the number of embryos to be transferred, as regards the policies adopted at clinics in Spain and the resulting financial repercussions. Data were collected from the assisted reproduction treatment register of the SEF and compared over three periods of time: 2002-2003, with no legal regulation and no SEF guidelines; 2004, with only legal regulation; and 2005-2006, with legal regulation and SEF guidelines. The acceptance of SEF guidelines varies according to the IVF technique. The guidelines have led to a reduction in multiple pregnancy rates, especially concerning triplets, in patients' own-egg and with donor-egg cycles. Even without full implantation, these results validate the clinical utility of the SEF guidelines. They constitute a useful tool to reduce the incidence of the principal adverse effect of treatment cycles: multiple pregnancies. The multiple pregnancy rate in assisted reproduction cycles depends fundamentally on the number of embryos transferred. It is essential that patients and professionals should have good practical guidelines on the best number of embryos to be transferred in each cycle in order to obtain high pregnancy rates with minimal risk of multiple pregnancies. The purpose of this study was to analyse the impact made by the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF) guidelines on the number of embryos to be transferred, as regards the policies adopted at clinics in Spain, and the resulting financial repercussions. Data were collected from the assisted reproduction register of the SEF and compared over three periods of time: 2002-2003, when there was no legal regulation and no SEF guidelines; 2004, when there was only legal regulation; and 2005-2006, when there was legal regulation and SEF guidelines. The degree of acceptance of SEF guidelines varies according to the IVF technique employed. The guidelines have led to a reduction in multiple pregnancy rates, especially concerning triplets, using patients' own eggs and with donor eggs. The reduction in the financial cost of deliveries achieved in the years 2005-2006 ranged from 890,187 to 18,593,242 euros, and the incremental cost per percentage point of multiple pregnancy avoided is 2,989,613 euros. In conclusion, even without full implementation, these results validate the clinical utility of the SEF guidelines. They constitute a useful tool to reduce the incidence of the principal adverse effect of assisted reproduction cycles, namely multiple pregnancies. 2025-01-20T08:36:42Z 2025-01-20T08:36:42Z 2010 journal article Cabello Y, Gómez-Palomares JL, Castilla JA, Hernández J, Marqueta J, Pareja A, Luceño F, Hernández E, Coroleu B. Impact of the Spanish Fertility Society guidelines on the number of embryos to transfer. Reprod Biomed Online. 2010 Nov;21(5):667-75 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/99626 10.1016/j.rbmo.2010.05.020 PMID: 20888295 eng open access Elsevier