New base for Yorkshire unit creating '˜little stars'

The toddler was conceived through IVF treatment, on her mum Lisa and dad Martin’s first attempt.

“We still can’t believe it,” Lisa said. “She’s just so special – we had been trying for so long. I really didn’t think we would get to this point.”

The couple underwent treatment in Bradford, through a clinic which is a satellite unit of the Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine.

The unit opened at Bradford Royal Infirmary in 1999 and has seen demand increase from both NHS and private patients, so it now performs around 255 IVF cycles a year and success rates are above the national average at 41.37 per cent.

Now, the Bradford base has been transferred to the Yorkshire Clinic in Bingley, with improved facilities including enabling patients to undergo complementary therapies to help them manage the stress of treatment.

The service has also been renamed Orbit Fertility, in recognition of the ‘little stars’ it helps create.

Dr Virginia Beckett, who leads the service along with fellow consultant Dr Shiva Kukreja, said: “In the 17 years since the satellite IVF service opened and we have gained a reputation for a caring, patient-centred approach to fertility treatment.

“We have access to the most advanced technology through our base units in Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool and achieve excellent success rates.

“From this solid foundation, the team look forward to our future as Orbit Fertility at The Yorkshire Clinic. Better transport links mean that we can welcome patients to our new clinic from a wider area, making fertility treatment more accessible and convenient.”

Mrs and Mrs Dyche, from Clayton Heights, Bradford, had been trying for a baby since 2010 before they were referred to the Bradford unit. Tests couldn’t detect any issues with either of them and they started IVF in April 2014.

The couple were supported by family and friends and especially friend Susan Riddiough, a fertility nurse at the unit.

In May, they were delighted to find out Mrs Dyche was pregnant. “Me and my husband had said it wouldn’t work, we didn’t want to get our hopes up. We couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Phoebe Grace was born in January last year and now is a lively 19-month-old.

“She’s the best thing ever,” her mum said.

“The whole process was made so much easier by the lovely team at the unit. They are so friendly, it wasn’t like going to a hospital – it was like going to see friends.

“The Yorkshire Clinic is a much better setting.”