Inventor for Life, The Story of W. J. Kolff, Father of Artificial Organs

More about the book

Inventor for Life retells the remarkable story of medical pioneer Willem J. Kolff MD PhD (1911), one of the most important medical inventors of the 20th century. Dr. Pim Kolff was responsible for introducing the era of artificial organs: the replacement of human body parts with machines in order to save life. He invented the artificial kidney (1943), built one of the first heart-lung machines (1956) and introduced the first artificial heart (1957). His medical inventions now routinely save millions of lives, day after day. But what did it take to get there? Inventor for Life is the compelling story of a persistently inventive doctor, idealist and humanitarian. From the early days of his childhood to the painstaking experiments with his first artificial kidney in wartime Europe. From his battles with the Nazis to his emigration to the United States; from his difficult new beginnings in Cleveland to the glory days of the Barney Clark artificial-heart operation in Salt Lake City. And, at the age of 95, his ongoing struggle on behalf of new artificial organs. Inventor for Life is an exciting biography of a man who enjoyed great success but suffered numerous losses in his lifelong battle to restore people to an enjoyable existence.