Notable people · Physician · Inventor · Biomedical Engineer
Willem Johan Kolff
Willem Kolff, born in Leiden, built the first practical artificial kidney in the Netherlands during WWII. He moved to the Cleveland Clinic in 1950, headed its Department of Artificial Organs, and worked on kidney, heart and lung devices until he left for the University of Utah in 1967. He died in Pennsylvania.
At a glance
- Born
- 1911-02-14
- Died
- 2009-02-11
- Education
- Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, medicine
- Groningen University, Groningen, Netherlands, residency, internal medicine
- Known as
- Physician, Inventor, Biomedical Engineer
- Organizations
- Cleveland Clinic
Life story
Willem Kolff was born in Leiden in 1911, the eldest of five boys, and studied medicine at Leiden and Groningen.
In World War II he built the first working artificial kidney from orange juice cans, car parts and sausage casing. In 1945 he used it to treat his first patient, a 67-year-old woman.
He moved to the United States in 1950 and became a citizen in 1955. At the Cleveland Clinic he led work on artificial organs until 1967.
At the University of Utah he headed artificial organs work, where the first artificial heart was implanted in Barney Clark in 1982. He died in Pennsylvania in 2009.
Timeline
- 1911-02-14: Born (Leiden, Netherlands) source
- 1945: First hemodialysis patient treated (Kampen, Netherlands) source
- 1950: Emigrates to United States; Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1955: Becomes U.S. citizen (United States) source
- 1967: Moves to University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT) source
- 1982: First artificial heart implanted (Barney Clark) (Salt Lake City, UT) source
- 1986: Japan Prize (Japan) source
- 2009-02-11: Dies (Pennsylvania) source
What Willem is known for
- Developed artificial organs (kidney, heart-lung) at the Cleveland Clinic, 1950-67
- First working artificial kidney
- Artificial heart research
Inventions and firsts
- Willem Kolff at the Cleveland Clinic (1950-1960s)
Honors and things named for them
- Japan Prize (1986)
- Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research (2002)
- Over 120 international awards
- Life magazine's 100 Most Important Persons of the 20th Century
- Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem (2012)
Family
- colleague: Mason Sones
- colleague: René Favaloro
Ohio places
Where Willem Johan Kolff was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Worked: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County (Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave) Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.
- Willem Johan Kolff (Wikipedia) life, honors