Willem Johan "Pim" Kolff (February 14, 1911 – February 11, 2009) was a pioneer of

hemodialysis Hemodialysis, also spelled haemodialysis, or simply dialysis, is a process of purifying the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of dialysis achieves the extracorporeal removal of waste products such as creatinin ...

artificial heart An artificial heart is a device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in the case that a heart transplant (from a deceased human or, experi ...

, as well as in the entire field of

artificial organ An artificial organ is a human made organ device or tissue that is implanted or integrated into a human — interfacing with living tissue — to replace a natural organ, to duplicate or augment a specific function or functions so the patient m ...

s. Willem was a member of the

Kolff Kolff (also: Van Santen Kolff, Kolff van Oosterwijk and Van Breda Kolff) is the name of a Dutch patrician family originating from the provinces of Holland and Gelderland in the Netherlands. History First known Kolffs are Wouter, Aernt Woutersz., W ...

family, an old Dutch

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

family. He made his major discoveries in the field of dialysis for kidney failure during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He emigrated in 1950 to the United States, where he obtained US citizenship in 1955, and received a number of awards and widespread recognition for his work.

Netherlands

Born in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Kolff was the eldest of a family of 5 boys. Kolff studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

in his hometown at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

, and continued as a resident in internal medicine at

Groningen University The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is the ...

. One of his first patients was a 22-year-old man who was slowly dying of

chronic kidney failure Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a type of kidney disease in which a gradual loss of kidney function occurs over a period of months to years. Initially generally no symptoms are seen, but later symptoms may include leg swelling, feeling tired, vom ...

. This prompted Kolff to perform research on artificial renal function replacement. Also during his residency, Kolff organized the first

blood bank A blood bank is a center where blood gathered as a result of blood donation is stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a department of a hospital usually within a Clinical Pathology laborat ...

in Europe (in 1940). Kolff's first prototype dialyzer was developed in 1943, built from orange juice cans, used auto parts, and sausage casings. Over a two-year span, Kolff had attempted to treat 15 people with his machine, but all had died. In 1945, Kolff successfully treated his first patient, a 67-year-old woman, from kidney failure using his

machine. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was in

Kampen Campen or Kampen may refer to: Places Finland * Kampen, the Swedish name of Kamppi, a district in Helsinki Germany * Campen, Germany, a village by the Ems estuary, northwestern Germany, home of the Campen Lighthouse * Campen Castle, a part ...

, where he was active in the

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

against the German occupation. Simultaneously, Kolff developed the first functioning artificial kidney.Moore, Carrie A
"Kolff, 'father of artificial organs,' dies at 97"
''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'', February 11, 2009. Accessed February 11, 2009. He treated his first patient in 1943, and in 1945 he was able to save a patient's life with hemodialysis treatment. In 1946 he obtained a PhD degree

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

on the subject. It marks the start of a treatment that has saved the lives of millions of

acute kidney injury Acute kidney injury (AKI), previously called acute renal failure (ARF), is a sudden decrease in kidney function that develops within 7 days, as shown by an increase in serum creatinine or a decrease in urine output, or both. Causes of AKI are cla ...

or chronic kidney failure patients ever since.

United States

When the war ended, Kolff donated his artificial kidneys to other hospitals to spread familiarity with the technology. In Europe, Kolff sent machines to London, Amsterdam, and Poland. Another machine sent to Dr. Isidore Snapper at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City was used to perform the first human dialysis in the United States on January 26, 1948 under the supervision of Drs. Alfred P. Fishman and Irving Kroop. In 1950, Kolff left the Netherlands to seek opportunities in the US. At the

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921, it runs a 170-acre (69 ha) campus in Cleveland, ...

, he was involved in the development of

heart-lung machine Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a technique in which a machine temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery, maintaining the circulation of blood and oxygen to the body. The CPB pump itself is often referred to as a he ...

s to maintain heart and pulmonary function during cardiac surgery. He also improved on his dialysis machine. At

Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts Gener ...

, with funding from New York real estate developer David RoseNew York Times: "DAVID ROSE"
July 18, 1986 he developed the first production artificial kidney, the Kolff Brigham Artificial Kidney, manufactured by the Edward A. Olson Co. in Boston Massachusetts, and later the Travenol Twin-Coil Artificial Kidney. He became head of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

's Division of Artificial Organs and Institute for Biomedical Engineering in 1967, where he was involved in the development of the

, the first of which was implanted in 1982 in patient Barney Clark, who survived for four months, with the heart still functioning at the time of Clark's death. In 1976 Kolff became a corresponding member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

Impact

Kolff is considered to be the Father of Artificial Organs, and is regarded as one of the most important physicians of the 20th century. He obtained more than 12 honorary doctorates at universities all over the world, and more than 120 international awards, among them the

Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh The Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh is awarded by the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine to a person who has made any highly important and valuable addition to Practical Therapeutics in the previous five ye ...

in 1964, the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

in 1971, the

Harvey Prize Harvey Prize is an annual Israeli award for breakthroughs in science and technology, as well as contributions to peace in the Middle East granted by the Technion in Haifa. History The prize is named for industrialist and inventor Leo Harvey. T ...

in 1972,

AMA Scientific Achievement Award The AMA ''Scientific Achievement Award'' is awarded by American Medical Association. It may be given to either physicians or non-physician scientists who have contributed significantly to the field of medical science. The award itself consists ...

in 1982, the

Japan Prize is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind." The P ...

in 1986, the

Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award is one of four annual awards presented by the Lasker Foundation. The Lasker-DeBakey award is given to honor outstanding work for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disea ...

in 2002 the

Russ Prize The Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize is an American national and international award established by the United States National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in October 1999 in Athens. Named after Fritz Russ, the founder of Systems Research Labora ...

in 2003. In 1990 ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

'' included him in its list of the 100 Most Important Persons of the 20th Century. He was a co-nominee with

William H. Dobelle Dr. Bill Dobelle (October 24, 1941 – October 5, 2004) was a Medical research, biomedical researcher who developed experimental technologies that restored limited sight to blindness, blind patients, and also known for the impact he and his compan ...

for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003.

Robert Jarvik Robert Koffler Jarvik (born May 11, 1946) is an American scientist, researcher and entrepreneur known for his role in developing the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. Early life Robert Jarvik was born in Midland, Michigan, to Norman Eugene Jarvik and Ed ...

, who worked in Kolff's laboratory at the

beginning in 1971, credited Kolff with inspiring him to develop the first permanent

Theodor Kolobow Theodor Kolobow (1931 – 24 March 2018) was an American physician, scientist, physiologist, and inventor of medical devices, including the membrane oxygenator, common to most modern ventilators. Early life and education Theodor Kolobow was bor ...

, the inventor of the silicone spiral coil membrane lung and pioneer of artificial organ development, was inspired by Kolff. Kolff died three days short of his 98th birthday on February 11, 2009, in a care center in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. On February 29, 2012, Yad Vashem recognized Willem Johan Kolff and his wife as Righteous Among the Nations, for their part in concealing a Jewish medical colleague and his son.

References

Sources

* Paul Heiney. ''The Nuts and Bolts of Life: Willem Kolff and the Invention of the Kidney Machine''. Sutton Publishing, 2003. . * Herman Broers. ''Inventor for Life: The Story of W. J. Kolff, Father of Artificial Organs''. B&V Media, 2007. . * Patrick T. McBride, ''Genesis of the artificial kidney''. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 1987.

External links

Kolff's papers
at the University of Utah
Willem Kolff Stichting
- Kampen, The Netherlands foundation honouring the life and work of Kolff
Familievereniging Kolff Family Association

W.J. Kolff Institute
- Groningen, The Netherlands. Research Institute within the UMCG named after W. J. Kolff

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolff, Willem Johan 1911 births 2009 deaths Dutch emigrants to the United States 20th-century Dutch inventors Dutch nephrologists University of Groningen alumni University of Utah faculty People from Leiden American nephrologists American medical researchers Dutch Righteous Among the Nations Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award 20th-century American inventors Leiden University alumni