1943

William Kolff, working in Germany-occupied Netherlands, begins using the dialyzer he constructed in 1942, viz, a method to filter patient’s blood through semi-permeable cellophane sausage casings affixed to a rotating wooden drum in an enamel bath; a Ford engine pumped patient’s blood into the sausage casings. The dialyzer permitted diffusion of smaller urea cells, but not larger blood cells, into salt rinsing solution, as area of high urea concentration flowed through the casing into area of low concentration. His first 16 patients died, though one was kept alive for 26 days, at which point she ran out of veins and arteries. The 17th patient (an imprisoned Nazi sympathizer), who came to Kolff in the summer of 1945, lived, and Kolff even gained her release from prison. From 1947-1960, it was used to treat acute and temporary injury to kidney (Rothman II, 88-89; Chaddock, 211-212; K. Tracy, 25-30). Kolff continued to encounter strong resistance from colleagues, who doubted the viability of the dialyzer, including administration at Mt. Sinai in late 40s, where the rogue procedure could only be performed at night. He emigrated with his family to Cleveland Clinic, where dialysis became routine in 50s and 60s.