An 81% IVF success rate is an encouraging number. But when you’re considering travelling overseas and making a significant financial investment in IVF gender selection, it’s worth understanding exactly what that percentage represents.
Success rates can measure different things, from pregnancy and live birth to results per egg retrieval or embryo transfer. They can also vary depending on whether embryos are fresh or frozen and, importantly, the age of the patient.
For families considering gender selection IVF, understanding that context doesn’t make the numbers less meaningful. It helps you compare clinics more confidently and understand where your own treatment may fit.
Start by asking: success per what?
When comparing fertility specialists or clinics, one of the most useful questions you can ask is simple: what does this success rate actually measure?
Is it a positive pregnancy test, a clinical pregnancy or a live birth? Is it measured per treatment cycle, egg retrieval or embryo transfer? Does it relate to fresh or frozen embryos? And which age group does it represent?
At Gender Selection Australia, we publish Dr Daniel Potter’s HRC Orange County results as live births per embryo transfer, separated by patient age.
For frozen embryo transfers, the currently published rates are 81.1% for patients under 35, 67.7% for ages 35–37 and 60% for ages 38–40. The published figure for patients aged 41–42 is 83.3%, with the smaller sample size clearly noted.
That transparency gives prospective patients something genuinely useful to work with when considering treatment.
Gender selection adds another layer to the IVF journey
With gender selection IVF, the goal is not only to create embryos for transfer. It is to identify an appropriate embryo of the gender your family is hoping for.
The process begins with egg retrieval and fertilisation. Embryos are then cultured to the blastocyst stage before suitable embryos undergo preimplantation genetic testing.
For someone exploring IVF for baby boy, for example, testing can identify male embryos while also providing important chromosomal information to help guide embryo selection.
This is one of the key reasons families choose IVF gender selection. It offers a level of information and reproductive choice that simply isn’t available through natural conception.
Of course, the number of embryos available for testing and transfer will vary from patient to patient. Age, ovarian reserve, response to stimulation and reproductive history all help shape the individual picture.
PGT gives Dr Potter more information before transfer
Preimplantation genetic testing is a particularly important part of the gender selection process.
Once embryos reach the appropriate stage, a small biopsy can be tested to provide information about their chromosomes, including chromosomal gender. This allows Dr Potter and his team to identify suitable embryos of the preferred gender before planning the transfer.
PGT does not guarantee implantation, because no IVF treatment can promise a pregnancy. What it does provide is valuable information before transfer, allowing the treatment team to make a more informed embryo selection.
For families travelling internationally specifically for gender selection, that additional information is a significant part of the treatment they are choosing.
Look at the expertise behind the numbers
Success rates matter, but they are even more useful when considered alongside the experience of the specialist producing them.
Dr Potter is board certified in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, as well as obstetrics and gynaecology, with extensive experience in IVF, preimplantation genetic testing and gender selection.
Patients travel to him from around the world, and Gender Selection Australia has partnered exclusively with Dr Potter for Australian patients since 2014.
That means Australian families are not simply choosing an overseas clinic that offers gender selection. They are accessing a specialist with longstanding experience in this area of reproductive medicine, supported by Australian and U.S. team members who have personally gone through the IVF process as patients at Dr Potter’s clinic. Having experienced the journey themselves, they understand the practical and emotional aspects of treatment firsthand and can provide guidance and support from both sides of the process.
The most useful success rate is the one that applies to you
Published success rates are an important starting point. Your own fertility picture is what turns those numbers into something personally meaningful.
That is why our process begins here in Australia. We can help organise your preliminary testing before your one-on-one consultation with Dr Potter, where your age, ovarian reserve, reproductive history and individual goals can all be considered when planning treatment.
If you’re considering IVF gender selection, book a free consultation with the Gender Selection Australia team. We can help you understand the process, Dr Potter’s published results and what the next step may look like for your family.