Hamburger's achievement with early renal transplants.

ABSTRACT

In 1947 Hamburger mapped out his course of action to achieve successful renal transplantation and then undertook what he had predicted. His steps were as follows in 1952, graft of a kidney from a mother to her son, a failure providing more information than any experimental attempt; in 1959, a transplantation from a non-identical twin to his irradiated brother, a rare success with this dangerous immunosuppression; in 1964, a successful graft from a dead donor, with Dausset's introduction of HLA typing to match the donor and the recipient. Hamburger's and Crosnier's endeavours were interwoven with those of other physicians and surgeons in Paris, Küss and Legrain, in Boston, Murray and, especially, Merrill, with whom Hamburger shared more than a friendship.