By Casey Neill
Australia’s first public sperm and egg bank is now accepting donations – right here in Victoria.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Acting Health Minister Gabrielle Williams visited the bank at the Royal Women’s Hospital in July.
“Public IVF is already helping hundreds of Victorians make their dream of having a baby a reality,” Mr Andrews said.
“Helping someone start their family is one of the most generous gifts you could give someone, and our new public egg and sperm bank will help even more Victorians, do just that.”
The bank is the first of its kind in Australia and features state-of-the-art laboratory facilities staffed with highly-qualified fertility experts.
It is now focused on recruiting donors to grow its stocks.
The bank will accept altruistic donations from Victorians who meet certain criteria and want to give someone the chance at starting a family.
In our autumn edition, Ms Williams shared how a sperm donor helped her to become a mother.
She started the IVF process while married, but when the relationship broke down she was determined to continue the process alone.
Ms Williams thought hard about asking someone she knew but decided an anonymous donation was the best option for her.
“Statistically, there are more and more women having children on their own,” she said.
“There’s going to be more of us, not less, which means the role of donors then becomes more important.”
On 2 July she said a sperm or egg donation was the greatest gift a person could give.
“Every day I am grateful for the generosity of the man who chose to donate sperm so that people like me can realise our dream of having a family,” she said.
“Victorians are a generous people.
“So, if you meet the eligibility criteria, have a think about it.”
The initiative is making the joy of starting a family a reality for single parents, couples with fertility challenges and LGBTIQ+ families, plus supporting Victorians being treated for medical conditions that compromise fertility, like cancer, to freeze their eggs or sperm.
Eligible Victorians seeking to access Victoria’s public fertility care – including the use of donated eggs or sperm – will need to be referred by their GP or specialist.
In addition to the egg and sperm bank, Royal Women’s Hospital and Monash Health are co-delivering Victoria’s public fertility services, offering IVF treatments, fertility consultations, diagnostic tests and procedures, ultrasounds, counselling, and more.
Satellite fertility services are also being established across the state to help people access fertility care closer to home.
Once fully operational, this almost $120 million program will help up to 5000 Victorians to start a family every year, saving them up to $10,000.
Since launching in October last year, more than 550 Victorians have started their IVF journey.
People interested in helping Victorians start their family can visit thewomens.org.au/egg-and-sperm-donate.
