IVF program at UMMC celebrates 40 years of hope
Published on Monday, December 9, 2024
By: Rachel Vanderford, rvanderford@umc.edu
Photos By: Jay Ferchaud/ UMMC Communications
When Marchelle and Jerome Banks Jr. exchanged vows in 2021, they were ready to build a life — and a family — together. Jerome Banks lovingly embraced his wife’s young twin boys as his own, but the couple faced heartbreaking challenges when they tried to conceive a child.
Turning to the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s IVF program, their dream became a reality when their daughter, Jurnee, was born in April. Now, the couple is back, hopeful for the next chapter—a baby boy.
The Bankses are just one of the countless families who have found hope through UMMC’s IVF program since its founding.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the UMMC’s groundbreaking IVF program — a journey that began with cautious hope and determination and has fulfilled the dreams of hundreds of families. From the first tentative steps in a field that was still experimental to its success today, UMMC’s IVF program has transformed the lives of families across Mississippi and beyond.
“UMMC’s IVF program has sustained 40 years without interruption, a historical milestone that speaks to the effectiveness of our program and the expertise of our clinicians,” said Dr. John Isaacs, chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, who has more than 30 years of experience in the field. "Most people may not realize how challenging IVF was in the 1980s and what a major accomplishment it was to have one of the first programs in the south here at UMMC. From our early beginnings of sharing the hope and science of IVF to our current cutting-edge treatments, we have grown and evolved to make sure we help patients achieve their dreams of becoming parents.”
Among the program’s earliest patients was Lynn Lawrence, whose journey reflects the resilience and hope that have defined the program since its beginning.
IVF treatment breaks ground for hopeful Mississippi parents
Lawrence had long known that starting a family wouldn’t come easily. Even before marrying her husband, Richard, in 1979, she braced herself for the challenges ahead. Physical complications made natural conception unlikely, but Lynn’s doctor offered a glimmer of hope: in-vitro fertilization, though not yet available in the United States, might one day make her dream of motherhood a reality. Until then, Lynn would navigate daunting rounds of infertility treatments, from medications to surgical procedures, with unwavering resolve.
In 1978, the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first IVF baby, captured headlines and hearts, signaling a seismic shift in reproductive medicine. Lawrence remembers the cautious optimism she felt watching similar breakthroughs unfold in the United States, including the birth of the first American IVF baby in 1981.
“We watched as the train was slowly making its way down the tracks to Mississippi,” she said.
By 1984, after five years of heartbreak and failed treatments, the Lawrences met the man who would change their lives: Dr. Bryan Cowan, who had joined the UMMC faculty in 1983, founding the first in-vitro fertilization program in the state that same year. Building on UMMC’s existing infertility services, the IVF program became one of the first in the nation, joining the ranks of only about two dozen others at the time.
In the early 1980s, IVF was a highly controversial procedure, often viewed as a “last resort” for couples who had exhausted all other forms of treatment. Yet, Cowan’s dedication and advocacy for the method helped Mississippi families access this innovative option, placing UMMC at the forefront of reproductive medicine. His commitment to helping Mississippi families bring new life into the world eventually led him to serve as chair of UMMC’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 2002 to 2009.
“We were in an infertility support group,” Lawrence said. “There were about a dozen couples that had been meeting for about two years, and Bryan came and spoke to us when he got hired at UMMC. He gave us a great talk, and I felt good about him.”
A few couples from the group decided to pursue treatment under Cowan, but Lynn and Richard were among the first to join UMMC’s newly established IVF program.
“I was excited, very excited,” Lawrence said. “Something inside me said, ‘This is what you have to do. This is what is right for you.’ I’m not the type of person who likes to go to hospitals for any reason, but I thought, ‘I can endure this.’ More than anything, I wanted to be a mother. I wanted to have children, and this was the logical way for it to happen for me. So, I embraced it.”
The road ahead was still uncertain. Their first attempt failed when none of the fertilized eggs developed, an emotional setback for the couple. “We were so nervous and emotional that first time, and then it didn’t work,” Lynn said. To help process their grief, they planted three dogwood trees in their yard to honor the embryos that didn’t survive. “That made us feel a little better,” she said.
Cowan encouraged the couple to take a few months off before trying again.
After their second attempt also failed, Cowan took an even more methodical approach, recommending they take additional time off from treatment while he investigated the underlying issue. "He told us he was going to figure out what wasn’t working and see if there was a solution. And he did. What he discovered was that Dick and I have an antibody problem. I’m negative and he is positive for an enzyme called PLA1.”
With this key discovery, the third attempt proceeded with renewed hope.
Lawrence family welcomes two new members
Just 10 days after the procedure, Lawrence felt an unshakable certainty — she was pregnant. “I just knew,” she said. Though Cowan was initially skeptical, the lab results confirmed what she felt in her heart.
“He told me ‘You’re very, very pregnant,’” Lawrence said with a laugh. Cowan explained that her results most likely meant she was carrying multiples. “I couldn’t believe it. In all those years, I had never been told those words.”
The following week, during her sonogram, the exam room was brimming with excitement. Doctors and nurses gathered to catch a glimpse of the newest additions to the Lawrence family.
“Dr. (Winfred) Wiser was the first to tell me congratulations,” she said, referring to UMMC’s former OB-GYN chair for whom the women’s hospital is named. “Followed by ‘You realize you’ll have two getting their driver’s licenses on the same day?’ Someone else chimed in, ‘Two going to college on the same day.’ And then they just started trying to outdo each other. Everyone was floating on air. It was just incredible. They told me later that they all went out and celebrated after that. It was a very festive time.”
On Sept. 5, 1986, shortly after Lawrence’s 30th birthday, her twin daughters, Susan and Mary, made their long-awaited debut — a day that sometimes felt like it would never come. Richard and Lynn were overjoyed to finally welcome their daughters into the world.
Born seven and a half weeks early — Susan at 5 pounds, 8 ounces, and Mary at just 2 pounds, 10 ounces — the twins were healthy despite their early arrival. “They were just very tiny,” Lawrence said.
Susan and Mary captured the hearts of everyone who met them. “The nurses would tell me every day how many visitors they had — staff, doctors, nurses — everyone wanted to see the ‘test-tube babies,’” Lawrence said.
“It was very sweet, and it felt so special. And at the same time, it gave us a chance to just be parents welcoming twins into the world,” she said. Holding their tiny daughters, feeding them and marveling at their perfect little features were moments they had dreamed of for years.
After leaving the hospital, the Lawrences hosted the first IVF reunion at their home in Jackson to bring together the families who had benefited from the program. “At the time, there were just two sets of twins and two singletons,” said Lawrence. “Once the Pavilion opened and they had room to hire more doctors, the program really bloomed. So, after that, the reunion moved to UMMC because every year there were more and more babies. It was just amazing to see.”
When the twins were 2 1/2 years old, to Lawrence's surprise, she was pregnant with her third daughter. “To put it delicately,” she joked, “Ginny started life the old-fashioned way. But she wouldn’t be here without IVF.” (A 2023 study found that one in five mothers who conceived their first child using fertility treatments, such as IVF, later became pregnant naturally — typically within three years.)
Now, all three of Lawrence’s daughters have blossoming families of their own.
“I have three daughters and three granddaughters, and we all share genes that go back generations,” she said. “This is what IVF gave me — not just a link to my daughters, but to my grandchildren, too. I always felt like UMMC was the right place for me. It was such a caring environment. I just cannot emphasize enough how safe I felt with them. And I think that’s what kept me going through it.”
A bright future ahead for UMMC’s IVF program
Banks shares a similar sense of gratitude. After traveling from Memphis for treatment, she said the six-hour drive to Jackson and back is “1,000% worth it.”
“Dr. Rushing has done every procedure,” she said. “He always tells me step by step what to expect. I love that I’m always able to email him when I have a question. It’s so nice to be, first of all, seen and heard, but also, to feel like I’m part of the family here.”
“We are thankful for the pioneering work done by those who came before us that has laid the foundation for a program that is at the top of our field,” said Dr. John Rushing, director of UMMC’s IVF program.
“We believe the next 40 years will be even more exciting than the last 40 years. UMMC is continuing to support our program with the addition of specialty trained physicians, nurses and laboratory professionals that are committed to continuous improvement to make IVF more accessible and more successful for our patients. Each year we see growth and improved success. Helping couples grow their family is our mission and we will continue to find new ways to do that better.”
Over the past 40 years, UMMC’s IVF program has grown from its humble beginnings to a thriving division. For Lawrence, Banks and numerous others, it is more than a medical service — it’s a foundation for family, connection and hope.
“They didn’t create life,” Lynn said. “But they cleared the damaged road and gave nature its best chance to start. For that, we will always be grateful.”
About UMMC Fertility Services
- Dr. Martha Thomas is the first female reproductive endocrinology and infertility physician in Mississippi.
- It is the longest standing IVF clinic in the state and among the first in the southeast.
- It is the only clinic in the state offering Invocell – a more affordable alternative to IVF.