Celebrating 10 Years of Ovarian Tissue Grafting at Melbourne IVF

On Wednesday 31 July, Melbourne IVF’s Fertility Preservation Team, patients and their beautiful families came together to celebrate 10 exciting years of ovarian grafting babies.

Associate Professor Kate Stern, Head of Clinical Research and Fertility Preservation at Melbourne IVF, performed the world-first ovarian tissue grafting procedure in Australia.

Since 2013, we’ve proudly welcomed 15 babies using ovarian tissue at Melbourne IVF. Once an experimental procedure, ovarian tissue grafting is now a standard option for young cancer patients to preserve their future fertility.

We were delighted to welcome Dr Franca Agresta, Clinical Research Manager at Melbourne IVF, and Dr Debra Gook, Head of Cryopreservation at the Royal Women’s Hospital, who were a vital part of the research team responsible for this groundbreaking treatment.

A/Prof Kate Stern, Group Director of ART, Scientific Innovation and Research Professor David Gardner, Senior Research Scientist Alexandra Harvey and fertility specialists Dr Lyndon Hale, Dr Marina Demyanenko, and Dr Violet Kieu are part of our world leading Fertility Preservation Team that continue to lead the charge in helping patients with medical conditions achieve their dream of starting a family.

We’re incredibly grateful to our dedicated Fertility Preservation Team, and to our patients for their determination and trust in us to help grow their families.