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Interview with Dr Paul Terasaki
Author(s) -
Cecka J. Michael
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1600-6143
pISSN - 1600-6135
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-6143.2003.00194.x
Subject(s) - medicine , transplantation , human leukocyte antigen , machine perfusion , tissue typing , abo blood group system , antigen , surgery , immunology , liver transplantation
In 1964, Paul Terasaki developed the microcytotoxicity test, a test that required only 1 mL each of the scarce antisera used to identify human leukocyte antigens (HLA) (1). This significant development allowed tissue typing to be standardized around the world and led to advances in a number of peripheral fields – a new way to resolve disputed paternity cases (2), links between HLA and a variety of diseases (3) and, of course, the important and persistent association between HLA and transplantation. As a result of Paul Terasaki’s research (as well as that of his many students around the world) showing better kidney graft survival rates for recipients of HLA-matched deceased donor kidneys, and his development of a simple cold storage solution for shipping of kidneys (4), the United Network for Organ Sharing currently facilitates the shipment of approximately 100 kidneys each month between US transplant centers for transplantation to HLA-matched recipients with high success rates (5). Concomitantly with the development of the microcytotoxicity test, Dr Terasaki recognized that patients who had preformed antibodies against donor HLA antigens would reject the graft in a hyperacute fashion (6). As a result, all patients waiting for a kidney transplant are screened for the presence of these antibodies and a lymphocyte crossmatch test is routinely performed to prevent hyperacute rejection. These seminal contributions and an unwavering commitment to improve kidney transplant results established Dr Terasaki’s position among the pioneers of transplantation. But these contributions represent only a small part of a larger interest in the importance of humoral immunity in transplantation. Paul Terasaki’s retirement from the UCLA Department of Surgery and the UCLA Tissue Typing Laboratory in 1998 lasted less than a year. He has since established the Terasaki Foundation, an independent laboratory dedicated to cancer immunotherapy and the study of humoral immunity and transplantation. Since his retirement, his continuing research has raised awareness and interest in the role of antibodies in transplantation.