The Fertility Society of Australia is the peak body representing scientists, doctors, researchers, nurses, consumers and counsellors in reproductive medicine in Australia and New Zealand.

The FSA is at the forefront of global developments in the treatment of infertility. Each year it presents an Annual Scientific Meeting attracting experts in reproductive health from around the world to review research and discuss new technologies and treatments.

It also plays an important role in supporting and advocating for couples striving for parenthood.

The Fertility Society of Australia embraces expertise in broader aspects of reproductive well-being with a focus on disorders including endometriosis, premature menopause, sexually transmitted diseases and cancer.

Australia has an outstanding record in helping couples experiencing infertility. Thousands of women in Australia and around the world have conceived and given birth using pioneering in vitro fertilisation techniques developed and perfected in this country.

These techniques include:

Micro-injection of sperm into egg;

Frozen embryos;

Donor gametes (eggs, sperm, embryos);

Gamete intra fallopian transfer (GIFT);

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

Australia was the third country in the world behind Belgium and Sweden to achieve viable pregnancies from the intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique. This involves injecting a single sperm into the female ova, or egg, using a needle smaller than one hundredth of a millimetre in width.

ICSI is an option for men with a blocked epididymis, the duct that leads from the testis to where sperm are stored, or from the testicular tissue itself. The procedure may also be applied to men with a congenital absence of the vas deferens, the tube that leads from the epididymis to the urethra, or to give quadriplegics and paraplegics the opportunity to achieve biological parenthood.

Australian reproductive scientists are also at the leading edge of research into identifying genetically inherited or sex-linked diseases. For example, major advances in molecular biology allow the diagnosis of diseases such as cystic fibrosis in the embryo prior to implantation. Other diseases, including haemophilia and muscular dystrophy, may also be detected at the pre-implantation embryo stage, avoiding the anguish of terminating a pregnancy if it is discovered that the developing foetus is carrying a disease.

The FSA demands the highest medical and nursing standards and ethical professionalism from its members and accredited centres. In 1986, the FSA promulgated a series of standards as a guide to the Code of Practice in IVF and related technologies. The Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC) was established by the FSA with its guidelines to be observed in clinics or centres involved in the treatment of patients with ovulation induction, artificial insemination, IVF and related techniques such as gamete intra fallopian transfer (GIFT) and all procedures involving donated gametes or embryos. Such clinics or centres are called Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Centres.

Objectives of the Fertility Society of Australia

To promote the study of the science of human reproduction in all its disciplines with particular emphasis on the clinical applications of such knowledge.

To create a forum for the discussion on the problems associated with infertility and fertility control.

To facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to these problems.

To liaise with the various Colleges and other interested Societies to assist in these aims.

To liaise with similar groups internationally both to disseminate knowledge and to study human reproduction.

To promote the teaching of this discipline throughout Australia and its neighbours.

As a result of these activities, to improve the standard of clinical care of patients.

To encourage research in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and related subjects by grants, prizes and awards from the funds of the Society.

To consider all questions affecting the interests of the Society including any related to the interests of the Society and its members.

To confer or correspond with any association, institution, society or body or Individuals, whether incorporated or not, in relation to any of the objectives of the society or on any other matter of interest to its members.

To establish rules for membership of the Society and to make and maintain a register of members of the Society.