Why demand for IVF is sky-rocketing

Demand for IVF is sky-rocketing, as more people turn to fertility clinics for assistance. Find out how much it could cost.

Stefani Driscoll is becoming a solo mum by choice. Her baby is due in October. Picture: Monika Berry

Stefani Driscoll always dreamt of having a family.

But when she was in her mid-30s, Ms Driscoll was faced with a worrying reality.

If she didn’t take action her dream might not come true.

So, five years ago the East Geelong resident decided to freeze her eggs as an “insurance policy”.

A few year later, Ms Driscoll, who was single, still had a burning desire to experience motherhood.

She decided to contact Monash IVF and have a child, through a sperm donor, on her own.

“It was very difficult to come to that decision,” Ms Driscoll said.

“The most difficult part of this whole process for me has been the mental heaviness.

“This is my life and it’s not at all what I ever thought it would be.”

Ms Driscoll, now 39, said she hadn’t considered freezing her eggs, until she learned someone she knew had gone through the process.

She said the idea of becoming a single mother by choice was even more foreign.

“To begin, with I didn’t know anyone who had chosen to be a solo mother by choice,” she said.

Stefani Driscoll is becoming a solo mum by choice. Her baby is due in October. Picture: Monika Berry

Ms Driscoll was eventually connected to a friend-of-a-friend who was a solo mother and found speaking to her “really helpful”.

“Then, from there, it was about speaking to my family about it,” she said.

“It’s a pretty big undertaking and I knew that it would involve them and their support.

“I didn’t doubt for a second that they would support me.

“My parents are local and they are so excited.”

Ms Driscoll is not alone in her decision to be a single mother by choice.

Monash IVF, which has services in Geelong, recorded a nearly 40 per cent rise in the total number of cycles undertaken by single female patients between 2019 and 2021.

Of the single women who were treated at Monash IVF Victoria in 2022, almost half of their cycles were for egg freezing, with donor sperm cycles making up most of the remaining cycles.

And the treatment is not cheap.

Stefani Driscoll is becoming a single mum by choice. Her baby is due in October.

In Victoria, the out-of-pocket cost for an initial cycle through Monash IVF is $5927.75, while the cost of a subsequent cycle after the Medicare safety net is $5292.35.

Monash IVF Geelong director Dr Prue Johnstone said the clinic recorded a 271 per cent increase in treatment cycles at its Geelong clinic between 2012-222, with the clinic focusing on trying to recruit more sperm donors.

She said finding donors could be challenging, particularly given inquiries from prospective sperm donors dropped sharply at the start of Covid.

“In July 2021 we launched a national digital campaign to encourage more people to become sperm donors,” she said.

“Inquiries from prospective donors went up more than 200 per cent in the first six months of the campaign.”

Dr Prue Johnstone from Monash IVF.

Ms Driscoll – who is due in mid-October – now has a network of other solo mums and doesn’t feel alone or isolated.

She said before decided on embark on the journey, she made sure she was financially stable.

“The biggest concerns and fears I had would’ve been the financial side of things and in the early days I was fearful of what people would think,” Ms Driscoll said.

“I’ve gotten past that. All responses have been so amazing,” Mr Driscoll said.

“Another big part of it, for me, was mourning the loss of the life you thought you would have.

“I’ve been raised in a wonderful, loving family and I’ve got only the most solid, incredible examples of relationships in my life.”

Ms Driscoll said she was “continually impressed” to hear and see about other women who have chosen the same path as her.

“I feel really empowered and fortunate to have this opportunity.”

Ms Driscoll said she knows her future child will have questions about the donor and said she planned to tackle this in an “open and honest way”.

“There are so many different make-ups of families and it’s not really as crazy or wild as it would been years ago, or in times gone by,” she said.

Originally published as Why demand for IVF is sky-rocketing