In vitro fertilization babies a Japan record

TOKYO — A record 1 in 14 children was born with the help of in vitro fertilization treatments in Japan in 2019, according to data recently compiled by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In its latest annual study of in vitro fertilization outcomes, the society said that 458,101 fertility treatments were performed in about 600 medical facilities in 2019 and 60,598 births were reported — both record highs.

A total of 710,931 in vitro fertilization babies have been born in Japan, since the nation’s first birth through the procedure at Tohoku University in 1983.

In vitro fertilization is a fertility treatment in which a mature egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body and transferred back into a uterus.

Japan’s public health insurance system does not cover the cost of in vitro fertilization, which averages about $4,545 per treatment, according to a government survey.

But faced with declining birthrates, the government has pledged to bring more fertility treatments under public health insurance coverage from fiscal 2022.