Ronald Finn
Ronald Finn (born June 12, 1930 in Liverpool , † May 21, 2004 ) was a British medic.
Finn studied medicine in Liverpool with an MD in 1954. He completed his clinical training at Sefton General Hospital and the Liverpool Royal Infirmary and in 1958 became a member of the Royal College of Physicians .
In 1960 in Liverpool with Cyril Clarke (his teacher, with whom he received his doctorate in 1961 with a dissertation on this subject), he discovered a possibility of preventing rhesus factor intolerance between mother and child (see Morbus haemolyticus neonatorum ) by administering rhesus factor antibodies to the Treat Rhesus Negative Mother. He found this out by examining blood samples from high-risk pregnancies. He found that despite different Rh factors, the majority of the mother and child did not develop any intolerances. The reason was that the blood groups were different and red blood cells of the embryo were attacked and destroyed by the immune system when they entered the mother's bloodstream, so that no antibodies against the Rhesus factor could form. Finn had the idea that the same effect could be achieved by administering anti-rhesus antibodies in cases in which the blood of mother and child was AB0-compatible: the red blood cells of the embryo would break into the bloodstream when they entered the Mother attacked and destroyed, so that no Rhesus sensitivity could develop in the mother, which would be a danger for future pregnancies. Together with Clarke (who was an expert in genetics and who initially wanted to investigate this aspect in particular) he then developed a corresponding treatment method through vaccination. After the idea had first been tested on male patients, Clarke and Finn demonstrated its effectiveness in a clinical study in 1964. Soon after, this was confirmed by American scientists ( William Pollack , Vincent J. Freda , John G. Gorman ) who worked on it independently, who also developed a vaccine.
In 1980 he received the Lasker ~ DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award with Cyril Clarke, William Pollack, Vincent Freda and John Gorman .
He was later a consultant nephrologist and from 1986 to 1996 director of nephrology at the Royal Liverpool Hospital.
literature
- Pearce Wright, Obituary in The Lancet, Volume 363, 2004, p. 2195, pdf
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Finn, Ronald |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British medic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 12, 1930 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Liverpool |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 21, 2004 |