SART

"The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology promotes and advances the standards for the practice of assisted reproductive technology to the benefit of our patients, members, and society at large." SART is the primary organization of professionals dedicated to the practice of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in the United States. The mission of SART is to set and help maintain the standards for ART in an effort to better serve its members and patients. SART is an affiliated society to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). SART ultimately reports to the CDC and works with other government agencies and patient groups to establish quality assurance standards, create proper guidelines and provide educational information. Unlike the CDC, SART is not a required reporting agency for reproductive centers.

SART doctors and scientists are on the cutting edge of the medical technology and science in treating infertility. They are continually researching new breakthroughs and are recognized nationally and internationally as the leading practitioners in the field. SART members are held to the highest professional standards, and our member practices follow strict guidelines in data collection and reporting, resulting in information that you can understand and count on. All embryology laboratories must be accredited every two years by CAP, JCAHO, or NYSTB.

** Many factors contribute to the success of an ART procedure. Keep in mind that results do not take into consideration issues such as patient selection, cycle cancellation, or the number of embryos transferred. Results are also based on per case and not per patient. Some clinics do not allow patient who are not prime candidates to go through a cycle or more that one cycle which keeps their rates higher than others clinics. Thus a comparison of one clinic’s success rates to another may not be meaningful because patient medical characteristics and treatment approaches may vary from clinic to clinic. **

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

CDC's Division of Reproductive Health has a long history of surveillance and research in women's health and fertility, adolescent reproductive health, and safe motherhood. In response to Congressional mandate, CDC began work to strengthen existing data collection efforts initiated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and to develop a national system for monitoring ART use and outcomes. In 1997, CDC submitted to Congress the first annual report, entitled Assisted ReproductiveTechnology Success Rates: National Summary and Fertility Clinic Reports. This report gained a wide audience, including potential ART patients and their families, policy makers, and health care providers. Maternal and child health professionals, as well as state and local public health departments, also began requesting data on birth outcomes among infants born using ART technologies in their localities. In 2002, CDC prepared the first ART surveillance report on ART use and outcomes by state. The ART Surveillance Summary is now published annually as a supplement to CDC’S Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

In 2006, the Division launched the CDC National ART Surveillance System (NASS), which builds on previous data collection systems and implements CDC model standards for surveillance.2 The success of this system depends on key partnerships. Our partners include ASRM and SART, who are involved in framing the surveillance and research questions and in collecting and reporting data from member clinics. Other important partners who represent consumers of ART and infertility services include RESOLVE, the American Fertility Association, and most recently, Fertile Hope. These organizations provide ongoing consultations about the Report and its use for public health communications and education.

www.cdc.gov/art/