In The News

Tributes are paid to doctor whose work advanced the use of organ transplants

Tributes are paid to doctor whose work advanced the use of organ transplants

TRIBUTES have been paid to Fritz Bach, who has died aged 77, who developed a cell-testing technique which resulted in a major advance in the fields of bone marrow and organ transplants.

Before Dr. Bach developed his “crossmatch test” in the early 1960s it was impossible to predict accurately whether a patient’s body would accept or reject a donated organ. 

By 1968, Dr. Bach had developed a technique which he named the Mixed Leukocyte Culture Test. He then used the MLC test to select donors for the World’s first two successful bone marrow transplants which were carried out in the United States.

The operations saved the lives to two boys, aged 5 months and 2-years-old.

Dr. Bach went on to refine his cell-testing technique which meant that tests were able to be obtained in hours, rather than days. This meant that more organs could be used from people who had died.

His work laid the foundation for decades of transplants that helped save the lives of thousands of people across the world.

Part of Dr. Bach’s career was spent as a Professor at the Harvard Medical School.

Among the many tributes paid to Dr. Bach was one from Dr. Simon C. Robson, a professor at the Harvard Medical School, who said it was generally accepted that he had been a “true genius” who was “a uniquely talented individual, and one of the most intelligent persons anyone could ever hope to encounter.”

Dr. Robson added: “He was a visionary who was brilliant at the Nobel level. He was innovative and highly creative and was renowned for his legendary ability to spot and develop big ideas amongst the deluge of data and discoveries his several laboratories generated and made over the decades.”

 

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