Gianni was born with extrophy, an unusual urological condition which meant his body did not grow fully closed around his penis, and his bladder was exposed. He had to live with a urostomy bag, and all of the physical and emotional burden that goes with this. 

When he was 38, Gianni met Prof. Piet Hoebeke, then head of urology, now dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. This meeting was to completely change his life. Thanks to the ground-breaking research and work of Prof. Piet Hoebeke, Gianni was able to receive a new bladder, made with pieces of intestinal tissue. The Gianni Eggermont Fund supports research at Ghent University into children’s urology, conducted by Prof. Piet Hoebeke amongst others. 

Want to make a donation to the Gianni Eggermont Fund?

Your donation to the Gianni Eggermont Fund will go to support research at Ghent University into treatments for urological and other genital conditions in children.

I would like to donate online

We gratefully welcome donations to the Gianni Eggermont Fund via bank transfer to account number: BE26 3900 9658 0329, with the message “Gianni Fund”. Your gift is tax deductible starting from €40 per year. 

“Thanks to the fund, Ghent University was able to finance a scholarship for a doctoral student. Certain patterns have been discovered in human tissue with the same defect as I have. They will investigate this further in their research.” _{- Gianni Eggermont}

How your gift can make a difference:

Check out durfdenken.be to find out more about Gianni and the research that saved his life (Dutch).

More information about the fund?

Background information

The fund was set up at Ghent University in 2019 by Gianni Eggermont, Prof. Piet Hoebeke, Prof. Anne-Françoise Spinoit, and Head of Urology at Ghent University Hospital, Prof. Erik Van Laecke. When he inherited some extra financial means, Gianni got in touch with the University Fund of Ghent University via testament.be. Together they looked for a way in which Gianni could express his gratitude to Prof. Piet Hoebeke, and at the same time support research into children’s urology, and so the Gianni Eggermont Fund came into being.

Aim

The aim of the Gianni Eggermont Fund is to provide financial support for research into children’s urology, in particular into congenital conditions. The fields of research include, amongst others:

• Genital conditions in boys;
• Variations in gender development in children;
• Congenital bladder conditions, including bladder extrophy;
• Congenital conditions affecting the upper urinary tracts.

Want to find out more about the research?

• Prof. Piet Hoebeke
• Prof. Anne-Françoise Spinoit
• Prof. Erik Van Laecke
• Department of Human Structure and Repair
• Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Ghent University Hospital – website of the Gianni Eggermont Fund (Dutch)

What else can I do?

• Support a fund through your legacy
• Organise a fundraiser or event to support the fund
• Want to set up your own fund?

Contact us

Do you have questions about this or any of the other Ghent University funds? Please get in touch and we will be happy to assist you.

University Fund of Ghent University
Wim Van der Planken

universiteitsfonds@ugent.be
+32 9 264 33 84