Dedication to Dr. Willem J. Kolff

Robert L. Stephen, MD, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Dumke Building (535), Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (USA) ‘...and I find that on looking through the records, we know nothing about you’. Thus, wrote the justifiably puzzled Administrator of Artificial Organs in August of 1974. Dr. W. J. Kolff ‘organized’ matters so that I would work with his Division of Artificial Organs for 1 year, commencing in September 1974. He based this invitation upon some desultory correspondence and his own assistance in setting up a dialysis unit in the hospital where this writer worked. On arrival in Salt Lake City, Kolff extended a typically brief welcome, discussed the pH of peritoneal dialysis fluids and went on to describe the attributes and drawbacks of various surfaces used in artificial heart construction. When alone later that night, I had ample time to reflect upon all the favorable and unfavorable attributes of a temporary (1-year) position in what was obviously a most unusual organization. So began an association with Kolff which is now into its ninth year. In this issue of Nephron , Drs. John P. Merrill, Eli Friedman and Benjamin T. Burton paint word portraits of Dr. W. J. Kolff, each from his own perspective. John Merrill describes Kolff’s first sally to America during the early postwar years and how his most famous innovation affected the lives of an initially small group of researchers and clinicians. The irrepressible Eli Friedman has chosen the unique technique of reviewing an early book of Kolff’s and uses this as an illustration of Kolff the person. Benjamin Burton, who himself achieved the impossible by combining an official governmental position with that of a genuine friend of all who worked with artificial kidneys, provides his own sketch of W. J. Kolff in a delightfully inimitable style. In addition, this writer solicited and gratefully acknowledges scientific contributions from Drs. Carl Kjellstrand, Vittorio Bonomini, Hans Gurland, Jean-Louis Funck-Brentano, Thomas Chang, Hippocrates Yat-zidis, Erikki Haapanen and Anthony Trafford. The choice of solicitation had a specific purpose. What better way is there to emphasize the international character of a person than to publish articles written in Italy, Greece, Finland, Germany, France, England, Canada and the United States. Each of these chief authors has enjoyed an association of one sort or another with Willem J. Kolff spanning many years, to the benefit of all concerned. Articles in many journals have been written wherein Kolff emerges as a central figure. In addition, there have been innumerable discussions, both public and private, in which the individual’s character has been dissected. Words and phrases such as ‘innovative’, ‘burning desire for knowledge’, ‘impatience’, ‘mentor’, ‘platonic’, ‘Simon Le-gree’, ‘generosity’ and ‘greatness’, have all been applied. All are true to some extent and all, even when taken collectively, are incomplete. If one had to use a single word in preference to all others in order to describe W. J. Kolff, that word would be ‘catalyst’. Kolff’s ability to initiate productive reactions