About 5 million babies have been born with the help of advanced reproductive medicine since 1978, a medical group said Tuesday.
The International Committee for the Monitoring of Assisted Reproductive Technology, which represents fertility groups, unveiled the estimate at a reproductive medicine meeting in Boston. So-called Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) includes fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization, among others.
“The number of babies born through ART is now about the same as the population of a U.S. state such as Colorado, or a country such as Lebanon or Ireland,” Richard Kennedy, a committee board member, said in a statement. “This is a great medical success story.”
According to group’s calculations, the number of ART babies grew rapidly over the last few decades. By 1990, there had been an estimated 90,000 births worldwide with the help of ART; by 2000, 900,000 births; and by 2007, 2.5 million births.
More than half of the 5 million ART babies were born in the last six years.