Couples who have been through IVF treatment are fundraising for a drop-in centre to be built at a new fertility unit.

Friends of the IVF Unit are campaigning for a support system to help those going through the IVF process.

The county's centre is based in the Women's Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, but the unit hopes to move to a new purpose-built modern building by 2008.

The Friends of the IVF Unit committee hope a drop-in centre can be incorporated into the new building. They are holding an autumn bazaar at the John Radcliffe on Saturday, September 30, to raise funds for the project.

Chairman Caroline Steinsberg conceived her first two children by IVF.

She said: "Going through IVF treatment is an emotional rollercoaster, it can be a desperate and lonely road.

"Most of us in the committee are the lucky ones, we have families now. I have three children - I really appreciate how lucky I am, that's why I'm doing this to help other people.

"It can be a really long process, and you can feel very helpless. It's vital people get that support and talk to other people who are going through it or have been through it so they don't feel so alone."

Mrs Steinsberg, a teacher who lives in Radley with her husband Graham, was told by doctors she had a cyst in her ovaries caused by endometriosis and the only way for her to have a child was through IVF.

She gave birth to Sophia, who is now 10, and Victoria, seven, after IVF treatment, before her third child Henry, now aged five, who was conceived naturally.

She added: "The number of people needing IVF is growing because women are getting pregnant later in life, in their 30s instead of at 20. This means they are having more periods than they would have done in the past when they would have been pregnant numerous times and not had many periods.

"The more periods you have the more your womb can be blocked by the breakdown of the womb lining during your period, which is why more women are turning to IVF."

Elika Saedi, a spokesman for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "The IVF unit has wanted to move to a new, modern purpose built centre for some time.

"Staff are still searching for an appropriate location.

"They want to expand and grow and provide the best facility possible."

The bazaar will be held at Tingewick Hall, at the John Radcliffe Hospital. There will be stalls selling Christmas gifts, toys, cards, jewellery, a children's entertainer, face painting and a visit from the Teletubbies.