IVF queen Dr Lynn Burmeister ready to take next step with egg-freezing clinic

MELBOURNE’S “Queen of Fertility” Dr Lynn Burmeister will open the state’s first dedicated egg-freezing clinic, as well as a low-cost IVF centre in regional Victoria, after her break from Monash IVF.

MELBOURNE’S “Queen of Fertility” Dr Lynn Burmeister has revealed plans to open the state’s first dedicated egg freezing clinic for career-minded women, as well a low-cost IVF centre in regional Victoria, following her bitter break from Monash IVF.

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Speaking publicly for the first time since settling legal action with the assisted reproductive company, Dr Burmeister said despite being left exhausted and spending “millions of dollars” in her legal effort to continue practising IVF, she was now focused on expanding her reach.

Dr Lynn Burmeister is looking forward to expanding her fertility services upon leaving Monash IVF on September 11. Picture: David Caird

“I really want the next year to be about positive energy,” Dr Burmeister said.

“I wasn’t going to walk away from this. This is all I do.

“I was fighting for my patients because as one patient told me; a year delay for them is the equivalent of 12 years.”

The fertility specialist has long been the go-to doctor for hard-to-treat infertile cases such as TV host Sonia Kruger, who Dr Burmeister helped become a mother at age 48.

During her 17 years at Monash IVF she was involved in Australia’s first successful ovarian tissue transplant for a cancer survivior.

Monash IVF launched legal proceedings to enforce the “restriction of trade” aspect of Dr Burmeister’s contract following her resignation, which prevents her from offering IVF within 50km of Melbourne for the next year.

Dr Burmeister, who performs about a quarter of Monash IVF’s egg collections, was fighting to continue offering ongoing IVF services to her patients.

Dr Burmeister helped Sonia Kruger, pictured with daughter Maggie, to become a mother at age 48. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Her resignation is one of a number of high profile depatures from Monash IVF since it became a listed company, including senior embryologists and the CEO.

There have been public growing tensions between the company’s need to satisfy shareholder expectations while keeping senior doctors on-side about changes to patient care.

Monash IVF has publicly maintained that reports it was putting shareholders before patients were inaccurate, and they had complied with all obligations in relation to the contract termination.

Until the trade restriction ends in September next year she will continue offering non-IVF fertility related assessments, diagnoses and treatments from her Richmond rooms.

Her first project upon stepping down on September 11 will be to open a social egg freezing clinic in inner Melbourne.

“There are a lot of women who want to preserve their fertility. They’ve got careers or Mr Right might not have come along. But it can be expensive, so I want to do it as a low cost centre.”