Since the 1970s Monash IVF has been a driving force in the development of assisted reproductive technologies in both Australia and overseas
History of IVF
Research into infertility has been carried out for many decades. However, the possibility of fertilising a human egg outside the body was probably only seriously considered in the late 1960's.
During this period in Australia the number of children available for adoption reduced dramatically through the granting of social service benefits for single mothers. Abortion was also becoming an alternative for unwanted pregnancies.
So it was by patient demand that IVF became a possible alternative treatment for infertility.
In 1968, staff from Monash University's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre tried to replace a damaged fallopian tube with an artificial tube. Because this proved unsuccessful, the direction of research changed and the doctors and scientists began trying to fertilise an isolated egg from sperm in the laboratory.
The first attempt to fertilise an egg in vitro was made in 1973, but the embryo did not implant into the wall of the uterus thus resulting in an early embryo death.
In July, 1978, Louise Brown, the world's first baby to be conceived outside the human body, was born in Britain as a result of the work of the pioneers of IVF, Dr. Steptoe and Dr Edwards.
Steptoe and Edwards used the natural ovulation cycle as the basis for their work. In Melbourne during 1979 and 1980, Professor Carl Wood and Associate Professor John Leeton, Dr Alan Trounson (a world renowned embryologist), Dr Alex Lopata and Mr Ian Johnston investigated the use of artificial hormones to control the ovulation cycle of women on IVF treatment. This became known as the Fertility Drug Schedule.
In June 1980, the world's fourth IVF baby was born in Melbourne as a result of the combined efforts of doctors and scientists from Monash University's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Queen Victoria Medical Centre and Melbourne University's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Royal Women's Hospital.
The Queen Victoria Medical Centre's clinical IVF program, which was the Monash University IVF program, is now called Monash IVF (previously the Infertility Medical Centre) and has Victorian clinics at the Epworth Hospital in Richmond, the Monash Day Surgery in Clayton and five regional clinics throughout the state: Bendigo, Casterton, Geelong, Sale and Sunshine.
In 1998, Monash IVF established Queensland clinics at Allamanda Private Hospital in Southport, Gold Coast and at Sunnybank Private Hospital, Sunnybank, Brisbane. Regional clinics have also been established at Rockhampton, Townsville and Ipswich in Queensland and Lismore in Northern NSW, Casterton and Sale, Victoria. In 2005 Monash IVF signed a joint venture with Wesley IVF, located at the Wesley Hospital in Brisbane, creating Wesley Monash IVF. In 2009 Monash IVF added another joint venture to the group, ISIS Fertility located in Barton, Canberra.
Monash IVF are also affiliated with clinics in Adelaide, Mildura, Darwin, New Zealand and China.
In 2008 Monash IVF opened regional satellite clinics in Seymour, Sunshine and Frankston Victoria.
Since the early 1970's Monash IVF has helped many families achieve their goal of having a healthy baby. More than 20,000 children have been born as a result of successful treatment in our programs. Twelve out of the first fifteen IVF babies born in the world are Monash IVF babies.
Some of our team's groundbreaking achievements include:
- First frozen embryo birth in the world
- First donor egg baby in the world
- World's first pregnancy and birth from a sperm retrieval operation
- Australia's first surrogate birth
- Australia's first open testicular biopsy twins
- Australia's first blastocyst baby