The number of children conceived using in vitro fertilization, sometimes called test-tube babies, has risen steadily in the United States since the early 1980s, the study said.
Overall, the researchers found a 26% increase in risk of birth defects among babies conceived using any form of ART (8% of births) relative to babies conceived naturally (6% of births), after adjusting for several factors that can influence birth outcomes.
The investigators found that birth defects occurred in 9.9% of babies conceived using ICSI, 7.0% of babies conceived using IVF that didn't involve injection of the sperm into the egg, and 5.8% of babies conceived naturally.
According to Dr. Salim Abu Khaizaran, director of the Razan Center a fertility clinic that has been performing the treatment so far 21 women have conceived using sperm smuggled out of Israeli jails.
They are also calling for legal limits on the number of children conceived using the same donor's sperm and a re-examination of the anonymity that cloaks many donors.
In a recent study of men treated for Hodgkin lymphoma, semen cryopreservation doubled the odds of fatherhood after treatment, with 20% of children conceived using cryopreserved semen [161].
The number of babies conceived using assisted reproductive technology (ART) who are stillborn, or die within the first year of life, has also fallen.
The results come from the first generation of boys conceived using a technique called intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), who are just reaching adulthood, and show that the young men have lower sperm quantity and quality than those conceived spontaneously.
The majority (59%) of women conceived using intrauterine insemination.
The mean age of children conceived using an identity-release donor was 4.5 years (SD = 0.76).
The mean age of children conceived using an anonymous donor was 6.9 years (SD = 1.30).
