Monthly Archives: August 2020

CAR T Cell Therapy for acute leukaemia: The RCH experience as the national paediatric referral centre

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells have revolutionised treatment for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) where standard therapies have failed.  We reflect on our first 12 months as the first national paediatric referral centre providing CAR T cell treatment to children with relapsed or refractory ALL from Australia and New Zealand, and highlight the collective efforts and lessons for the hospital-wide CAR T cell team. 

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How can a 10 year old be sent to prison in Australia?

Currently in Australia, children as young as 10 years old can be arrested, held in police cells, taken before a magistrate and incarcerated in prison-like settings.  Most children who are incarcerated are never convicted of a crime. 

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From scarlet fever to polio: epidemics and pandemics in the history of the Royal Children’s Hospital

In the early decades of European settlement, Australia was free of some infectious diseases such as measles, scarlet fever and diphtheria which could not survive the long voyage to Australia. When these infections did arrive, as shipping times reduced, resistance was low and severe epidemics occurred, especially among children in the crowded slums of the cities, and among indigenous populations who were previously free of these infections.

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