The Assisted Reproduction Act (ARA) was promulgated and implemented on March 21, 2007 with the aim to facilitate the development of assisted reproduction technology (hereinafter referred to as the “ART”) and to safeguard the rights of infertile couples, children born under assisted reproduction and donors, as well as to uphold public ethics and health. According to the provisions of Article 27 of the ARA, assisted reproduction institutions are obliged to report relevant information regarding the number of patients undergoing treatment, success rates, causes of infertility, and the types of ART adopted. The competent authority shall establish an assisted reproduction database and periodically conduct statistical analyses as well as publish updated data accordingly.
Relevant laws and regulations governing the management of the practices and database of assisted reproduction in Taiwan has been gradually formulated since 1995. By early 1998, a total of 48 assisted reproduction institutions were established in Taiwan; by July, 2022, the number of licensed medical institutions had reached 95 in total. In accordance with the provisions of the ARA, these medical institutions are required to apply for approval from the competent authority to engage in ART practices and provision of acceptance, storage and provision of donated gametes. In order to maintain the quality of ART performed in medical institutions, the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare (hereinafter referred to the “HPA”) regularly carries out permit reviews on all licensed assisted reproduction institutions.
This report focuses on the statistical analysis of cases that had been treated in 92 assisted reproductive institutions in Taiwan (2020). In response to the government’s implementation of the “In Vitro Fertilization (commonly known as IVF) ART Subsidy Program” from July 1, 2021, the qualification for subsidy recipients was expanded, while Chapter 1 introduces the method of Assisted reproductive technology (ART) and the meaning of the treatment cycle, and Chapter 2 covers all treatment cycles as a statistical basis and maintains an analysis framework over the years, including data on ART between spouses and data on recipients of sperm and egg donors. The third chapter has been adjusted, especially for the analysis of ART in ROC nationals. Chapter 4 presents an analysis of the trends in the ART practices from 1998-2020.