On 3 July 1992, Mater Mothers' Hospital delivered Australia's smallest surviving baby, Jonathon Heeley, weighing just 374 grams. Jonathon became affectionately known as 'the coke can kid' and has grown up to lead a healthy life.
Three years later, in 1995, the Mater Centre for Mater Fetal Medicine opened, providing specialist obstetric care that focuses on the medical and surgical management of high-risk pregnancies.
The first in-utero spina bifida surgery was performed by the Centre’s Director Dr Glenn Gardener and a specialist multidisciplinary team. The Centre remains the only site in Australia and New Zealand to provide the intricate surgery.
In 1996, the Queensland Cord Blood Bank at Mater opened, preserving life-saving blood from the umbilical cord and placenta to treat patients worldwide who need haematopoietic stem cell transplants.
In 1998, the Queensland Diabetes Centre was launched at Mater in The Whitty Building.