Vincent J. Freda
Vincent J. Freda (born December 16, 1927 in New Haven (Connecticut) , † May 7, 2003 in Manhattan ) was an American doctor ( gynecologist , surgeon ), known for developing a vaccine against Rhesus factor intolerance in pregnant women with William Pollack and John G. Gorman .
Freda studied at Columbia University and New York University School of Medicine. He was a surgeon in the US Air Force before turning to gynecology and worked at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.
As a student of Alexander Solomon Wiener , the co-discoverer of the rhesus factor, he dealt early on with the complications of rhesus factor intolerance in mother and fetus and was one of the first to try surgical interventions (blood transfusion on the fetus, determination of its blood group with amniocentesis ). In the 1960s, he worked with Gorman and Pollack to develop the rhesus factor vaccine known as Rho-GAM. In 1980 they received the Lasker ~ DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for this with Ronald Finn , Cyril A. Clarke (who worked independently in Great Britain on the development) . Freda and Gorman pursued the idea of preventing the mother from producing antibodies by injecting rhesus factor antibodies in good time. Pollack provided the antibody vaccine. They tested the vaccine on volunteer prisoners in Sing-Sing and by 1964 the success of the concept was clear. Clinical studies followed and the vaccine was introduced in 1969.
Freda founded one of the first clinics in the USA for mothers at risk for Rh factor.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Freda, Vincent J. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American medic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 16, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Haven (Connecticut) |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 7, 2003 |
| Place of death | Manhattan |