MEDICAL GIANT REMAINS MODEST ABOUT HIS PLACE IN HISTORY
Nov 30, 2007
Dr. Irving Kroop Discusses America’s First Hemodialysis
Dr. Irving Kroop was warmly greeted when he visited SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in late November to present the guest lecture at Renal Grand Rounds, a gathering of physicians and medical students who learn by hearing case histories. Few are as captivating as Dr. Kroop’s account of the first successful hemodialysis in the United States, which he performed in 1947 using a novel invention—the dialyser. Hemodialysis is now used the world over and has saved the lives of countless millions.
Introduced by Dr. Eli Friedman, chief of the Division of Renal Disease, as “someone who changed the world,” Dr. Kroop quipped, “I don’t believe you’re aware that you are changing history.” The unassuming doctor is indifferent about his place in medical history, but his colleagues recognize his accomplishment as a medical milestone.
Dr. Dale Distant, chief of the Division of Transplantation at SUNY Downstate, perhaps stated it most succinctly: “Men act, but history makes the judgment.” In typically modest fashion, Dr. Kroop replied, “You just have to live long enough.”
Even at 92, the doctor is still healthy and active. Dr. Kroop is a clinical professor of medicine at SUNY Downstate and a consulting physician in cardiology at Maimonides Medical Center.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.