Sir John Vivian Dacie, FRS (20 July 1912

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

, London – 12 February 2005) was a British

haematologist Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...

Education

He was born in Putney, London and educated at

King's College School, Wimbledon King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London a ...

, after which he studied medicine at

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by K ...

Medical School, qualifying in 1936.

Career

He had house jobs at

, the

Royal Postgraduate Medical School The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (RPMS) was an independent medical school, based primarily at Hammersmith Hospital in west London. In 1988, the school merged with the Institute of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and in 1997 became part of Imperial ...

, London University, Hammersmith and a research post at

Manchester Royal Infirmary Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England. Founded by Charles White in 1752 as part of the voluntary hospital movement of the 18th century, it is now a major regional and nati ...

. During World War II (1943–1946) he served in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

, ending up a lieutenant colonel. After the war he was a Senior Lecturer and then in 1956 Professor at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School. He founded the Leukaemia Research Fund, Great Ormond Street, London (1960). His main achievements concerned the

Hemolytic anemia Hemolytic anemia or haemolytic anaemia is a form of anemia due to hemolysis, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs), either in the blood vessels (intravascular hemolysis) or elsewhere in the human body (extravascular). This most commonly ...

s, a field in which he was a world leader. He discovered and named

Christmas disease Haemophilia B, also spelled hemophilia B, is a blood clotting disorder causing easy bruising and bleeding due to an inherited mutation of the gene for factor IX, and resulting in a deficiency of factor IX. It is less common than factor VIII defi ...

, more commonly referred to as haemophilia B, a deficiency of coagulation

Factor IX Factor IX (or Christmas factor) () is one of the serine proteases of the coagulation system; it belongs to peptidase family S1. Deficiency of this protein causes haemophilia B. It was discovered in 1952 after a young boy named Stephen Christmas w ...

. Sir Dacie is credited with characterizing the relationship between

paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare, acquired, life-threatening disease of the blood characterized by destruction of red blood cells by the complement system, a part of the body's innate immune system. This destructive process occu ...

and bone marrow failure syndromes like

aplastic anemia Aplastic anemia is a cancer in which the body fails to make blood cells in sufficient numbers. Blood cells are produced in the bone marrow by stem cells that reside there. Aplastic anemia causes a deficiency of all blood cell types: red blood ...

. He was founder of the Leukaemia Research Unit, Hammersmith Hospital (1969) and founder and editor of the

British Journal of Haematology The ''British Journal of Haematology'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal focusing on hematology and other blood-related topics, such as blood diseases and their treatment. It is published by ileyon behalf of the British Society for Haematology. ...

. He was elected President of the

Royal College of Pathologists The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) is a professional membership organisation. Its main function is the overseeing of postgraduate training, and its Fellowship Examination (FRCPath) is recognised as the standard assessment of fitness to pr ...

(1973–1975) and the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

(1977). He had a lifelong interest in

lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

. He was knighted in 1976 and retired in 1977.

Family

Dacie married Margaret Thynne in 1938.

Works

*''Practical Haematology.'' Churchill, 1950

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dacie, John Vivian 1912 births 2005 deaths People from Putney People educated at King's College School, London 20th-century English medical doctors Royal Army Medical Corps officers British haematologists Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor