Thousands of families are rejoicing in the news that, for the first time ever, they may receive free fertility treatment. The first-ever public IVF clinic is set to open at Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital on Tuesday, 18 October 2022.
This is such great news for families who are struggling to fall pregnant but simply cannot afford the costs of IVF.
Under the public system, 4,000 women will be able to receive free fertility treatment per year. This may grow to 5,000 per year, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has promised, but only if he is reelected.
The free IVF clinic in Melbourne is run by the Royal Women’s Hospital and Monash Health.
“IVF can be a game-changer for people who might be struggling to have a child, but too often and for too many, it’s financially out of reach,” Andrews said.
At this stage, IVF can cost around $10,000 for one cycle. While some of this is paid through private health care, not all of it is. Here is an example from IVF Australia for one of their clinics in Sydney.
- IVF
- Fertility preservation
- Genetic testing
- Donor and surrogacy services – including Victoria’s first public sperm and egg bank
Andrews said the service will further be expanded to satellite sites that will be able to offer consultations and pathology for those in regional Victoria.
Who is the free IVF clinic for?
At this stage, the clinic is available to Victorian women aged 42 and under who require fertility treatment. There are no specific eligibility requirements such as income.
Patients will require a Medicare card and a referral from their GP.
IVF Success Stories
Countless couples struggle with falling pregnant, some out in the open and some behind closed doors. Infertility can be devastating, time-consuming and heartbreaking.
We’ve shared several success stories of families who have gone through IVF and fertility treatments and achieved their baby dreams.
10 years, 12 rounds
One beautiful story features mum Melissa who wanted nothing more than to be a mum. For 10 years she saved photos of baby showers, nurseries and newborn announcements for inspiration, hoping she would one day be able to share her own.
For 10 years, Melissa and her husband Matty tried to have a baby. They were met with heartbreak after heartbreak. 10 years. 4 miscarriages. 11 investigative/laparoscopic surgeries. 12 rounds of IVF.
On their lucky 12th, they were blessed with a little boy – Kai Alan, born in 2020. Read their full story here.
A double rainbow
Another mumma, Lesleigh shares her own struggle to fall pregnant a second time around. She gave birth to Lochlon, born through IVF and wanted to give him a sibling.
For two years they tried and they were met with two miscarriages. However, after 500+ injections, vials, pill bottles and patches, Lesleigh gave birth to Lennon, a much-loved brother for Lochlon.
Lesleigh shared a beautiful photo on Facebook – a tribute to the IVF process and to her little double-rainbow baby.
She writes,
“This picture of you at the base of a colourful rainbow created from every single needle, vial of medication, patch, and pill bottle that we used in the past two years became that shot. It represents hours of injections, sticky residue from medicine patches, and pills carefully tracked.
What it doesn’t show are the countless doctor’s appointments, my bruised abdomen, our hopes lifted, our dreams crushed and many tears shed.
This one striking picture of you couldn’t possibly show it all. What is does show is that we never gave up. We never stopped fighting for you and battled at every turn, refusing to be knocked down for good…”
Read the rest here.
452 needles
Another mum, Lauren, also shared her pregnancy struggle and joy of twins. The photo showcases the 452 needles that she used during her fertility treatments.
“We thought about how to announce our two miracles to the world. Everything we could think of fell short of doing them justice. 452 needles, 1,000’s of tears, 1 corrective surgery, 4 clomid/letrozole attempts, 2 IVF rounds, 3 failed transfers.”
Read her full story here.
