May Ratnayake

May Ratnayeke (1892-1988) was a Sri Lankan physician, is known for being the second female medical student from that country and its first female doctor. Dr Ratnayeke was born May de Livera to John de Livera, one of six siblings, in Kandy. In her childhood, she attended local schools, then went on to medical school at Ceylon Medical College in Colombo. She graduated with her MD in 1916. After obtaining her degree, she worked at the American Mission Hospital in Jaffna, then moved to Lady Havelock Hospital. She was a fellow at the Royal Free Hospital for Women from 1925-1927. Dr Ratnayeke was married in 1927 and had three children, a son and a daughter who became physicians, and a son who became a tea planter. In 1927 she became a surgeon at Lady Havelock Hospital. She was a fellow at the University of Edinburgh Medical School for a year from 1932-1933. After her fellowship, she was promoted to chief surgeon, and joined the faculty at the medical school of the University of Ceylon. In the 1930s Dr Ratnayeke contributed articles on gynaecological issues to a number of international journals.

• A Case of Acquired Artresia of the Vagina and its cure by Plastic Operation, DR. May Ratnayeke L.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. August 1934, International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

• A Case of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula resulting from Simple Ulceration of a Prolapse in an Old Woman. DR. May Ratnayeke L.R.C.P., F.R.C.S .August 1934, British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

• Umbilical fistula caused by a patent meckel's diverticulum, DR. May Ratnayeke L.R.C.P., F.R.C.S., Medical Officer In Charge, Lady Havelock and Lady Ridgway Hospital, Colombo, October 1936, British Journal of Surgery.

In 1943 she was elected President of the Ceylon Branch of the British Medical Association.<ref><Health Policy in Britain's Model Colony: Ceylon, 1900-1948, Margaret Jones 2004/ref> For most of her career, she was part of the Medical Women's International Association.