The introduction of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), means that embryologists are now able to test embryos before they are transferred, removing embryos effected by genetic disorders such as the BRCA gene.
At The Royal, PGD is offered to patients under the care of The Fertility and Research Centre (FRC) under a hybrid private/public model. It is only thanks to philanthropy that the FRC opened in 2017 as Australia’s first public, holistic fertility and research centre with the mission to help women and men have a chance of a family, regardless of their background, circumstances, or socioeconomic status.
In 2023 Jess and Jacob started their journey to parenthood under the care of The Royal’s Dr Rachael Rodgers as the first public patients to access the service.
Of the eight eggs that were collected, six of them sadly carried the BRCA gene, but thankfully two of them didn’t.
After their first transfer, Jess and Jacob received the incredible news that one of their two healthy BRCA-free embryos was successfully implanted, and they were pregnant.
After a healthy and low-risk pregnancy, they welcomed Max into the world here at The Royal Hospital for Women on 28 December 2023.
