YOUR MILDURA HEALTH
MONASH IVF CELEBRATES 10 YEARS IN MILDURA
The O’Bryan family
the Mildura Rowing Club, to celebrate the milestone. The event was a huge success, with almost forty people, both adults and children, attending, including several ‘IVF families’, some from as far away as Broken Hill and Swan Hill. Reflecting on the Mildura service and the benefits it has provided the community, Dr. Sleeman says it has been a great privilege to work alongside a team of visiting IVF scientists and nurses to assist many local families. These ‘families’ include the O’Bryan family. Angela and Shane’s first three children, twins Patrick and Luciana and daughter Julia, were born via private IVF at Repromed in Midura, while their youngest twins, Joseph and Roseanna were the first babies to be born via Monash IVF in Mildura. Angela says the local IVF service was a blessing for her and Shane.
Across our region, there are many families who are the happy result of our private IVF system, with hundreds of babies born via IVF locally, since the treatment was made available twenty-five years ago, first through Repromed, and later, through Monash IVF when it was established in 2014. Mildura’s Monash IVF Clinic supports patients to access world-leading fertility treatment, without the need for travel outside our region, and as demand has continued to grow, so has the number of babies who’ve been welcomed into the world. With 2024 marking the tenth anniversary of Monash IVF in the region, fertility specialist, Dr. Kimberley Sleeman, recently hosted an event at
“We were extremely lucky to be able to have all our children through a local IVF clinic. It certainly reduced some of the stress and it is so pleasing to see the clinic continuing to support families to receive fertility treatment close to home.” Operating out of the Mildura Health Private Hospital, the Clinic’s state-of- the-art facilities were included as part of the recent upgrade to the hospital. With technology and facilities that are on par with those found in major city hospitals, Monash IVF and Dr. Sleeman look forward to many more years of providing exceptional healthcare and support for patients based in northwest Victoria and far west New South Wales. “Seeking fertility treatment can often be more difficult for people living in isolated, or regional areas, and I have always felt it was important to advocate for treatment close to home where possible. “There is nothing more precious than being part of this journey. It is also very important to me to be able to help women and couples when the journey does not go as expected and provide personalised support in all outcomes,” Dr Sleeman said. Thanks to Monash IVF and the work of Dr. Sleeman, many people across our region have been able to create the families they longed for and that, if nothing else, is worthy of great celebration.
Photo: ( L-R) Monash IVF scientists Darcy and Teagan, IVF nurse Abby, Dr Kimberley Sleeman
12 | SPRING/SUMMER NEWSLETTER 2024
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