A 1964 Perspective on Homotransplantation

A 1964 PERSPECTIVE ON HOMOTRANSPLANTATION MARK M. RAVITCH* Montefiore Hospital Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania April 19, 1974 The Editor Perspectives in Biology and Medicine Dear Sir: I send you copies of my letter of March 26 to the secretary of the Society of University Surgeons, together with a reply from him and the copy which he sends from the records of the Society of the presentation of Professor Nevozmozhny before the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Society of University Surgeons, and finally the notation on the records of the Society made by the then secretary, Dr. James V. Maloney. Inasmuch as the remarks were not delivered at a business session of the Society, the then secretary seems not to have thought it appropriate to have the paper published in Surgery, as is usual, ofcourse, with materials presented at the regular sessions. It may be, of course, that Nevozmozhny's pointed animadversions on the contemporary transplantation scene might have tempered the secretary's enthusiasm for such publication. At all events, he seems to have done some research on Nevozmozhny. I think your readers would be fascinated to see how the American transplantation scene was viewed by a visitor 10 years ago. Sincerely, Mark M. Ravitch, M.D. Professor of Surgery ?Professor of surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Montefiore Hospital , 3459 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · Summer 1975 | 50 1 Montefiore Hospital Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania March 26, 1974 Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D., Secretary Society of University Surgeons Dear Dr. Fonkalsrud: I would hope that, as secretary of the Society of University Surgeons, you would not object to doing a little research for me. At the time of the Los Angeles meeting some years ago, the Society was addressed by Professor Nevozmozhny of the Institute of Sebastopol, as I recall. I would imagine that in the records ofthe Society there may be a transcript of his remarks and perhaps letters or notation concerning these. I would be most appreciative if I could have photocopies of these items from your records. Sincerely yours, Mark M. Ravitch, M.D. The Society of University Surgeons Los Angeles, California April 2, 1974 Dear Dr. Ravitch: I was most delighted to have an opportunity to recall the stimulating and instructive after-dinner talk by Professor Dimitri Nevozmozhny at the 1964 annual meeting of the Society of University Surgeons in Los Angeles. I am only sorry that the professor did not have his manuscript published in the July issue of Surgery that year. I hope that this is the talk that you had in mind. My warm personal regards. Very sincerely yours, Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. 502 I Mark M. Ravitch · Homotransplantation Perspective, 1964 Address Delivered February 13, 1964, by Professor Dimitri Nevozmozhny , Sebastopol Institute of Transplantation, at the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting ofthe Society of University Surgeons Ladies and gentlemen, most honored president. We know that we in Russia, and you in the United States also, to some extent, have solved the problem of transplantation of the kidney, the liver, and the heart, but I wish to speak to you now of the experience of the Sebastopol Institute of V. I. Lenin in nervous tissue transplantation, particularly of the central nervous system, and specifically of the brain itself. I can't go on, I simply can't. In the first place, to be given not a place on the program of a scientific session, but at a dinner in a cabaret, like any common entertainer, dishes rattling, people talking. You know, really , this is the very city in which our beloved Nikita Sergeivitch was so insulted, taken to a movie set to see art, and shown a chorus line of French dancers of questionable virtue with short dresses and long legs, cancan—and then was denied the privilege of going to Disneyland. I should not have expected to be treated like a true scientist. Still, I would like you to know of our work. May I? Fortunately, at the moment, the relations between our countries are very friendly, and we must do all in our power to maintain them in this way. I would like to tell you of the experiences...