Patrick Loudon Mollison, (17 March 1914 – 26 November 2011), was a British

haematologist Hematology ( spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the production ...

, described as 'the father of transfusion medicine'.

Life

Mollison was born on 17 March 1914, to Beatrice Marjorie, née Walker, and William Mayhew Mollison. His father was an ear, nose and throat surgeon at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

, and his paternal grandfather,

William Loudon Mollison William Loudon Mollison (19 September 1851 – 10 March 1929) was a Scottish mathematician and academic. From 1915 to 1929, he was Master of Clare College, Cambridge. Early life and education Mollison was born on 19 September 1851 in Aberdeen, ...

, was a Scottish mathematician and Master of

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

. He attended

St Peter's School, Seaford St Peter's School, Seaford was an independent boys' preparatory school in Seaford, East Sussex, England, that ran from 1903 until 1982. History Before and during World War One Seaford House played host to St Peter's School in 1903, as an Edw ...

, followed by

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

, then underwent medical training at Clare College and

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

, qualifying in 1938. He joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

in 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, serving in Germany and visiting the newly liberated

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

. He also visited

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, by which time he was a lieutenant colonel. He was Director of the Medical Research Council's Blood Transfusion Research Unit (later the Experimental Haematology Unit), from 1946 to 1979; and Professor of Haematology at

St Mary's Hospital, London St Mary's Hospital is a teaching hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust ...

from 1962 to 1979.

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

consulted him on each of her four pregnancies, and he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1979 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countrie ...

. He was also elected a

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

(FRCP) and a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS). He died on 26 November 2011.

Significant works

* * *

References

External links

* 1914 births Place of birth missing 2011 deaths Place of death missing Royal Army Medical Corps officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society British haematologists British medical researchers Presidents of the British Society for Haematology People educated at Rugby School {{UK-med-bio-stub