Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. II Issue NO.: 6 (June 2000)
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568

Eminent figures of Transplantation

Indian Transplant Newsletter.
Vol. II Issue NO.: 6 (June 2000)
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568
Print PDF


Dr. Felix Rapaport is a familiar name in the world of transplantation. He served the Transplantation Society as Founding Secretary, past-President, and continuous council membership for 32 years and was also the Founder and Editor of Transplantation Proceedings. He received the Medawar prize in 1998.

 

He was born in Munich in 1930 but shortly after that, with world war II looming, the family moved to Paris,  the Dominican Republic and finally to the USA. He had the higher education at New York State University and was a star student and leader.

 

His interest in the budding field of transplantation was kindled by his teacher, Dr. John Converse, the noted plastic surgeon. Together, they worked with the New York Academy of Science and this laid the basis for the Transplantation Society.

 

His scientific contributions included the first systematic study of skin allograft rejection in humans that suggested the existence of tissue types in man. These studies, and subsequent ones with Jean Dausset culminated in the definition of dog (DLA) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) systems and defined “The laws of transplantation” in both species.

 

By showing that cytoabellted dogs who were treated with autologous bone marrow could acquire tolerance to kidney allografts during a brief window of opportunity, he predicted that tolerogenic role of stem cells. Other first observations included the loss of cellular immunity with malignant disease, severe trauma and burns; the genetic control and sex-linkage of host resistance to thermal and radiation injury; and cross reactivity between bacterial and histocompatibility antigens.


To cite : Shroff S, Navin S. Eminent figures of Transplantation. Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. II Issue NO.: 6 (June 2000).
Available at:
https://www.itnnews.co.in/indian-transplant-newsletter/issue6/Eminent-figures-of-Transplantation-144.htm

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