Present Status of Blood Component Therapy

Abstract

It is not possible for me to begin my presentation without pausing momentarily to honor the memory of the physician and scientist who would have preceded me on this program but for an abrupt and untimely death earlier this month. It is paradoxical that I delivered the eulogy at his funeral just a fortnight ago, and now once again follow his footsteps on a program that particularly illuminates his decades of interest in the lymphoproliferative disorders. I was not a student of Bill Dameshek, and I never even collaborated with him on a scientific paper. But I always cherished his provocative nature and the blithe spirit of his imaginative mind — even to the coining of such illegitimate words as immunocyte — to categorize a type of stimulated lymphocyte — which gave off an aura of globulin synthesis. It is never possible to refer to someone as great or possessing of genius when one is a contemporary. Rather, such appellations are pounded out in the hard mill of history. But to me, Dr. Dameshek was a unique person. He was warm. He was compassionate. He was a born teacher. He could inspire others to achieve heights greater than themselves. Most of all, I remember him, not for his specific deeds or any single scientific paper, but rather for the broad brush of his personality as a physician, an editor, and an investigator. He was a Twentieth Century version of the Seventeenth Century natural philosopher.