Dr Yasmin Jayasinghe awarded RCH Foundation Grant

L to R: Rafael Serrano Real, Dr Yasmin Jayasinghe, Dr Willemijn Blok and Dr Lei Shong Lau

Dr Yasmin Jayasinghe and her core team Dr Lei Shong Lau, Dr Catherine Allingham and Rafael Serrano Real from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology have been awarded the RCH Foundation Grant for Fertility Care from Diagnosis to Survivorship. The funding is for three years to translate high quality oncofertility and survivorship care in children and adolescents with cancer.

Dr Yasmin Jayasinghe is a Winter and Glover Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Clinical Lead in Fertility, Royal Children’s Hospital, Consultant Gynaecologist, The Women’s Hospital, Oncology and Dysplasia Service, Reproductive Services and Research Fellow (Honorary), Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Brain and Mind Theme.

Dr Jayasinghe is a recognised national expert and an international pioneer in paediatric oncofertility, where gonadal tissue is collected and cryopreserved prior to gonadotoxic cancer treatment in the hope that it may be autografted back into the body in adulthood to achieve parenthood. One in 900 adults is a survivor of childhood cancer and >1/3 will be infertile as a result. When adults have cancer, fertility preservation (collection of eggs, sperm, gonadal tissue) is offered but this was not done for children.