Why is the report of 2008 success rates being published in 2010?
Before success rates based on live births can be calculated, every ART pregnancy must be followed up to determine whether a birth occurred. Therefore, the earliest that clinics can report complete annual data is late in the year after ART treatment was initiated (about 9 months past year-end, when all the births have occurred). Accordingly, the results of all the cycles initiated in 2008 were not known until October 2009. After ART outcomes are known, the following occurs before the report is published: • Clinics enter their data into NASS and verify the data’s accuracy before sending the data to Westat. • Westat compiles a national data set from the data submitted by individual clinics. • CDC data analysts conduct comprehensive checks of the numbers reported for every clinic. • Clinic tables, national figures, and accompanying text for both the printed and Internet versions of the report are compiled and laid out. • CDC and Westat review the report. • Necessary changes are incorporate
