Page 20 - FSANZ Update Spring 2022

Nurses gather in strength at workshop
The Fertility Nurses of Australasia (FNA) 2022 workshop in Sydney on Saturday 30 July was so well attended that we had to move to a bigger room!
There were 143 attendees demonstrating how eager nurses were to get out and about for some interaction and education after the rigours of COVID lockdowns.
The International Conference Centre was a great venue and Sydney looked stunning with clear skies over sparkling Darling Harbour.
Dr Shannon Kim had the attention of all when she informed us on the different appearances of seminiferous tubules and the chance of obtaining sperm in a procedure called microTESE sperm aspiration.
Apart from her excellent educational message, she was also very humorous with references to vermicelli noodles (bad) compared to linguine noodles (good).
Dr Rachel Bradbury discussed the effects of obesity on women, their partners and their children. It was quite a sobering talk and some declined morning tea.
Jane Fonda provided a very clear explanation on ultrasound in ART demonstrating how to get the best out of the machine. This was a pre-recorded session as Jane was flying for a long- awaited trip to Europe.
The middle section of the day was devoted genetics, in particular to mitochondrial disease and the effects of its unexpected diagnosis on patients and their families.
The session featured a very good explanation of the legal journey with Maeve’s Law and the possibility of mitochondrial donation for Australian couples after legislation was passed in Federal Parliament earlier this year.
The afternoon session was devoted to adolescents and young women. Dr Emmalee Ford presented on how to get the best out of period trackers, and it was complemented by Felicity Roux’s talk on educating young women on their “vital cycles.”
Some attendees commented that they wished they had known this in high school, and they certainly wanted their daughters to benefit from the information.
Dr Rebecca Deans also presented an excellent talk on the journey for some women from adolescence to future fertility.
Finally, we were delighted to receive an invitation to attend the opening of the FSANZ conference along with delegates from the other professional groups SIRT and ANZICA.
Linda Robinson
Fertility nurses at the workshop (from left) Cynthia Ibarra, Prue Fabrio, Linda Robinson, Fatima Lakhanzi and Mary Girlie San Jose.
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The Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform Bill passed this year by Federal Parliament if often referred to as Maeve's Law, named after six year old Victorian girl Maeve Hood, who lives with Leigh Syndrome, a severe neurological disorder. Maeve is pictured above with her mum Sarah