Chronic hemodialysis (Kolff kidney and Scribner shunt)
Diálisis crónica (riñón artificial de Kolff y derivación de Scribner)
- Date
- 1943-1960 · confidence high
- Place
- University of Washington, Seattle, United States (Scribner, 1960); Kampen, Netherlands (Kolff, 1943)
- Credited to
- Willem Kolff (artificial kidney, 1943-1945); Belding Scribner and Wayne Quinton (Teflon shunt that allowed repeated dialysis, 1960)
- People
- 👤 Belding Hibbard Scribner1921–2003👤 Wayne Quinton1921–2015👤 Willem Johan Kolff1911–2009
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
A machine that filters blood through semi-permeable membranes, and a permanent vascular access that allowed the treatment to be repeated indefinitely. It turned end-stage kidney failure into a chronic condition.
What it led to
- The first committees to allocate scarce medical resources (the Seattle committee) and the field of bioethics
- Public funding of dialysis and debates over healthcare costs
- Artificial membranes and artificial organs
Built on
Made possible
- kidney transplant (patient maintenance)
- bioethics
- artificial heart (Kolff)