Edward Donnall "Don" Thomas (March 15, 1920 – October 20, 2012)Frederick R. Appelbaum.
Perspective: E. Donnall Thomas (1920–2012)
Science 338(6111):1163, 30 November 2012 was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, professor emeritus at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

, and director emeritus of the clinical research division at the

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington. History The center grew out o ...

. In 1990 he shared the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...

with Joseph E. Murray for the development of cell and

organ transplant Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transpor ...

ation. Thomas and his wife and research partner

Dottie Thomas Dorothy "Dottie" Thomas (née Martin) (San Antonio, Texas, September 18, 1922 – Seattle, January 9, 2015) was an American hematology researcher and administrator known for her work in developing bone marrow transplants. She and her husband, ...

developed

bone marrow Bone marrow is a semi-solid biological tissue, tissue found within the Spongy bone, spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It i ...

transplantation as a treatment for

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

Biography

Born in

Mart Mart may refer to: * Mart, or marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be d ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, Thomas often shadowed his father who was a general practice doctor. Later, he attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

where he studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

and

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1941 and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1943. While Thomas was an undergraduate he met his wife, Dorothy (Dottie) Martin while she was training to be journalist. They had three children. Thomas entered

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...

in 1943, receiving an

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

in 1946. Dottie became a lab technician during this time to support the family, and the pair worked closely thereafter. He did his residency at

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two f ...

before serving two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

as an internist stationed in Germany. "In 1955, he was appointed physician in chief at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, now Bassett Medical Center, in Cooperstown, New York, an affiliate of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

." At Mary Imogene Bassett, he began to study rodents that received lethal doses of radiation who were then saved by an infusion of marrow cells. At the time, patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation all died from infections or immune reactions that weren't seen in the rodent studies. Thomas began to use dogs as a model system. In 1963, he moved his lab to the

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant ...

in Seattle. Thomas also received

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

in 1990. In 2003 he was one of 22 Nobel laureates who signed the

Humanist Manifesto ''Humanist Manifesto'' is the title of three manifestos laying out a humanist worldview. They are the original '' Humanist Manifesto'' (1933, often referred to as Humanist Manifesto I), the ''Humanist Manifesto II'' (1973), and ''Humanism and I ...

. He died of heart failure.

Awards and honors

*1965-1969 Hematology Study Section, National Institutes of Health *1969-1973 Member, Board of Trustees and Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee, Leukemia Society of America, Inc. *1970-1974 Clinical Cancer Investigation Review Committee, National Cancer Institute *1974 First Annual Eugene C. Eppinger Lecture at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and the Harvard Medical School *1975 A. Ross McIntyre Award, University of Nebraska Medical Center *1975 The Henry M. Stratton Lecture, American Society of Hematology, Dallas *1977 The Lilly Lecture, Royal College of Physicians, London *1979 The Philip Levine Award, American Society of Clinical Pathologists, New Orleans *1980 American Cancer Society Award for Distinguished Service in Basic Research *1981

Kettering Prize The Charles F. Kettering Prize was a US$250,000 award given by the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation for the most outstanding recent contribution to the diagnosis or treatment of cancer. __TOC__ History The award was named in honor of Char ...

of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation for contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer *1981 Honorary Doctorate of Medicine, University of Cagliari, Sardinia *1981 Special Keynote Address Award, American Society of Therapeutic Radiologists *1982 Stratton Lecture, International Society of Hematology *1982 Paul Aggeler Lecturer, University of California, San Francisco *1983 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Lecturer, Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology *1983 Robert Roesler de Villiers Award, Leukemia Society of American *1984 Sixty-fifth Mellon Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, May 13 *1985 Stanley Wright Memorial Lecturer, Annual Meeting of the Western Society for Pediatric Research *1987

Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award The Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award is a scientific award given by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) to scientists with "an international reputation in transfusion medicine or cellular therapies" "whose original research resulted in an ...

, Annual Meeting of the American Association of Blood Banks, *1987-1988 President, American Society of Hematology *1989 Elected Corresponding Member, Academie Royale de Medecine de Belgigue *1990 Terry Fox Award, Canada *1990

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a ...

*1990 North American Medical Association of Hong Kong Prize *1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine *1990 Presidential Medal of Science *1991 Adolfo Ferrata Lecture, Italian Society of Hematology, Verona, Italy *1991 Honorary Doctorate of Medicine, University of Verona *1992 Kober Medal, American Association of Physicians *1992 Honorary Member, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada *1992 Honorary Doctorate of Medicine, University of Parma *1993 Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

*1994 Honorary Member, National Academia of Medicine *1994 Honorary Degree, University of Barcelona *1996 Honorary Degree, University of Warsaw *1998 Medal of Merit, State of Washington

References

External links

*Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Nobel Prize: The Don and Dottie Story
* including the Nobel Lecture 8 December 1990 ''Bone Marrow Transplantation - Past, Present and Future'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, E. Donnall 1920 births 2012 deaths Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Washington faculty Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine American Nobel laureates American hematologists National Medal of Science laureates Harvard Medical School alumni Columbia University people Physicians of Brigham and Women's Hospital United States Army Medical Corps officers Presidents of the American Society of Hematology